Bismarck State College

The proposed research is a descriptive study involving an analysis of the learning styles, study habits, choice of learning modality among students of Mechanical Engineering school at Bicol State College of Applied Sciences and Technology (BISCAST) and to propose a policy that address these differneces. The quantitative descriptive design was employed to collect the data which was collected using a structured questionnaire used on students of various year levels. The results show consistency in developmental trends by the students as they go through the program. Reflection, sensing, visual, and sequential learning preferences with a higher preference of face to face teaching and relatively weak study habits are typical of first-year students. However, the senior students have been found to move towards active, intuitive, global, and verbal learning orientations, as well as more sophisticated self-regulated learning styles of effective time management, strategic review, and sustained problem solving practice. Blended and online learning modalities are also more favored by higher year levels, indicating rising learner autonomy, computer skills and confidence in performing complex academic tasks. The correlation analyses also support the strong positive correlation between the active-intuitive learning styles, effective study habits, and preference to use blended or online modalities. These findings imply that learning preferences and behaviors are not predetermined characteristics but they change based on academic requirements and the exposure to instructions. Thus the researchers, proposes a policy advocates for a developmentally scaffolded instructional approach that aligns learning styles, study skills support, and learning modalities with students’ year-level progression to promote autonomous and flexible learning in the Mechanical Engineering program. This paper highlights the significance of scaffolded pedagogical practices whereby the instructional strategies are matched to the stages of development of students favoring the progressive transfer of guided learning to autonomous, integrative, and flexible learning conditions in engineering education.

Higher levels of ergot (Claviceps purpurea [Fr.] Tul.) were reported in North Dakota hard red spring wheat (HRSW) in 2018, leading to questions pertaining to management and cultivar resistance. To better understand pathogen and HRSW cultivar responses, greenhouse experiments were conducted from 2020 to 2021 to evaluate the aggressiveness of nine C. purpurea isolates and ergot resistance in 21 HRSW cultivars. Results from the aggressiveness assay indicated significant cultivar-by-isolate interactions for the total weight of sclerotia produced and ergot incidence. Mean data across all cultivars by isolate combinations suggested isolates CC-3 and IA-Tim were the most aggressive, and these were subsequently used in ergot resistance experiments. Results from ergot resistance screening indicated that none of the HRSW cultivars were immune to C. purpurea because all cultivars produced sclerotia. However, differences in ergot incidence, kernel incidence, aborted kernel incidence, total sclerotia weight, sclerotia length, and sclerotia width occurred among cultivars. Both 'ND-Frohberg' and 'TCG-Spitfire' had the lowest ergot incidence values and were among the lowest in total sclerotia weight. 'Waldron' and 'LCS-Trigger' had the highest ergot incidence and the highest total sclerotia weight. Given that most concerns with ergot occur postharvest, we suggest two categories to describe ergot resistance: host resistance (fate of inoculation for a stigma) and logistical resistance (size characteristics of a sclerotium that influence its ability to remain with a seed lot after harvest and cleaning). This research provides a strong foundation for our understanding of HRSW resistance to ergot that will influence variety decisions in ergot-prone areas in North Dakota.

Abstract Oil and gas extraction from the Bakken and Three Forks shale‐oil reserves often produces large volumes of highly saline water, or brine. Brine releases often cause soils to exhibit poor structural and edaphic properties. Because of these negative effects, active remediation is often attempted through the use of in‐situ and ex‐situ techniques. Unfortunately, many conventional methods can be time intensive, costly, and only partially effective. This study sought to determine if salts could be efficiently removed from coarse‐ and fine‐textured soils through the surficial application of a wicking medium consisting of an engineered, paper‐based humidifier wick or ground wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) straw while soils were irrigated from the subsurface with either purified water or a gypsum solution. Over a 56‐d period, the humidifier wick with a gypsum solution reduced extractable Na by 82 and 23% in the loam and silty clay columns, respectively. The humidifier wick with purified water treatments reduced extractable Na by 77 and 8% in the loam and silty clay columns, respectively. Ground straw reduced extractable Na by <12% in all cases. The humidifier wick reduced the mean soil electrical conductivity (EC) by >9 dS m–1 with the largest reductions at deeper depths (i.e., >15 dS m–1 or >90% removal). Results show that evaporative wicks are comparable to other surficial remediation techniques in removing salt mass from soil.

Core Ideas Aboveground biomass was greatest when cover crops were planted at the V4 corn stage. Aboveground biomass of cover crops was modest (260–608 lb acre−1 yr−1). Interseeded cover crops did not negatively affect corn grain yield.

Extension professionals are being challenged to innovate their work, yet day-to-day responsibilities do not always allow time or space for creativity and innovation. In early 2016, Ohio State University Extension held its inaugural Innovate Extension event, a hackathon-style gathering focused on creative collaboration during which teams competed for grant funds by developing an idea, plan, and pitch over the course of a day. Turnout exceeded expectations, and participants gave high marks to the experience. Due to the event's success, additional Innovate Extension events have been hosted at North Dakota State University, Utah State University, and Oregon State University. This article provides highlights and outcomes.

83 Background: Surgical margin involvement (M+) by PC at RP is associated with suboptimal bRFS; however, the interaction of M+ with coincident high-risk clinicopathologic and treatment factors obscures accurate estimation of recurrence risk. The objective of this study is to determine whether ME permits risk stratification. Methods: Retrospective analysis of clinicopathologic factor association with bRFS. Eligible patients underwent RP alone for clinically localized PC. Patients with metastatic disease, PSA > 30 at diagnosis, pathologic involvement of seminal vesicles or lymph nodes at RP, insufficient follow-up, or receipt of pre-RP or adjuvant therapy were excluded. Slides from RP specimens with close or positive margins were re-reviewed by study pathologists blinded to outcome. Results: From 2002-2010, 667 patients were eligible for analysis. The median age was 61 yrs (range, 43-76), and all had cT1-2 disease (83% T1c), with median PSA 5.6 (0.9-28.0; 85% ≤10). Robot-assisted RP was employed in 141 cases (21%). Two hundred ten patients (31%) had M+, with single maximal ME 3mm (0.1-23), and cumulative ME 4mm (0.1-34). At median follow-up of 102 months (13-184), 149 patients (22%) had recurrence, with estimated 8-year bRFS rates of 85%/56% for M-/+ patients (p < 0.01). Multivariable analysis identified PSA, Gleason score (GS), extraprostatic extension, and M+ as associated with bRFS. Specific to patients with involved margins, the combination of ME and GS permitted recurrence risk stratification, with a low-risk subset identified (GS≤6 and ME < 3mm; Table). Conclusions: The current investigation suggests that GS6 patients with maximal or cumulative ME < 3mm appear to have favorable early 8-year bRFS following RP. GS6 patients with wider ME and GS ≥7 with any extent M+ appear to have suboptimal bRFS. RP pathology reports should include ME details, in order to more precisely estimate risk of subsequent disease recurrence. [Table: see text]

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Zusammenfassung Im (Irr-)Glauben daran, dass nur ein »schlanker« Staat ein guter Staat sei, reformierte die von Gerhard Schröder geführte rot-grüne Bundesregierung den von Reichskanzler Bismarck Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts begründeten Sozialstaat. Obwohl der private Reichtum hierzulande nie größer war, leitete Schröder einen einzigartigen Um- und Abbau der sozialen Sicherungssysteme ein. Solidarität und Egalität als tragende Säulen des Sozialstaats schienen den Anhängern des »Dritten Wegs« nicht mehr zeitgemäß. Renten-, Kranken-, Pflege- und Arbeitslosenversicherung galten bald nicht mehr nur in liberal-konservativen Kreisen als Sinnbild für ein »gesetzliches Zwangssystem«, das es zu entstaatlichen, sprich: zu pri-vatisieren galt. Selbst in weiten Teilen der SPD, der Gewerkschaften und der Kirchen formierte sich kein (wirksamer) Widerstand gegen die »Verschlankung« des gesetzlichen Rentenversicherungssystems. Schlagwörter: Altersvorsorge, Renten, Sozialpolitik, Sozialstaat ----- Bibliographie: Engartner, Tim: Rendite statt Rente – oder: Die Privatisierung der Altersvorsorge, GWP, 4-2016, S. 419-426. https://doi.org/10.3224/gwp.v65i4.01

ABSTRACTUsing confirmatory factor analyses and multiple indicators per construct, we examined a number of theoretically derived factor structures pertaining to numerous trust-relevant constructs (from 9 to 12) across four institutional contexts (police, local governance, natural resources, state governance) and multiple participant-types (college students via an online survey, community residents as part of a city's budget engagement activity, a random sample of rural landowners, and a national sample of adult Americans via an Amazon Mechanical Turk study). Across studies, a number of common findings emerged. First, the best fitting models in each study maintained separate factors for each trust-relevant construct. Furthermore, post hoc analyses involving addition of higher-order factors tended to fit better than collapsing of factors. Second, dispositional trust was easily distinguishable from the other trust-related constructs, and positive and negative constructs were often distinguishable. However, the items reflecting positive trust attitude constructs or positive trustworthiness perceptions showed low discriminant validity. Differences in findings between studies raise questions warranting further investigation in future research, including differences in correlations among latent constructs varying from very high (e.g. 12 inter-factor correlations above .9 in Study 2) to more moderate (e.g. only three correlations above .8 in Study 4). Further, the results from one study (Study 4) suggested that legitimacy, fairness, and voice were especially highly correlated and may form a single higher-order factor, but the other studies did not. Future research is needed to determine when and why different higher-order factor structures may emerge in different institutional contexts or with different samples.