Advances in Membrane Distillation Module Configurations

Membrane Distillation (MD) is a membrane-based, temperature-driven water reclamation process. While research emphasis has been largely on membrane design, upscaling of MD has prompted advancements in energy-efficient module design and configurations. Apart from the four conventional configurations, researchers have come up with novel MD membrane module designs and configurations to improve thermal efficiency. While membrane design has been the focus of many studies, development of appropriate system configurations for optimal energy efficiency for each application has received considerable attention, and is a critical aspect in advancing MD configurations. This review assesses advancements in modified and novel MD configurations design with emphasis on the effects of upscaling and pilot scale studies. Improved MD configurations discussed in this review are the material gap MD, conductive gap MD, permeate gap MD, vacuum-enhanced AGMD/DCMD, submerged MD, flashed-feed MD, dead-end MD, and vacuum-enhanced multi-effect MD. All of these modified MD configurations are designed either to reduce the heat loss by mitigating the temperature polarization or to improve the mass transfer and permeate flux. Vacuum-enhanced MD processes and MD process with non-contact feed solution show promise at the lab-scale and must be further investigated. Hollow fiber membrane-based pilot scale modules have not yet been sufficiently explored. In addition, comparison of various configurations is prevented by a lack of standardized testing conditions. We also reflect on recent pilot scale studies, ongoing hurdles in commercialization, and niche applications of the MD process.

A Review of Infrared Thermography for Delamination Detection on Infrastructures and Buildings

This paper provides a comprehensive review on the use of infrared thermography to detect delamination on infrastructures and buildings. Approximately 200 pieces of relevant literature were evaluated, and their findings were summarized. The factors affecting the accuracy and detectability of infrared thermography were consolidated and discussed. Necessary measures to effectively capture latent defects at the early stage of delamination before crack formation were investigated. The results of this study could be used as the benchmarks for setting standardized testing criteria as well as for comparison of results for future works on the use of infrared thermography for detection of delamination on infrastructures and buildings.

Detection of Contaminants in Hydrogen Fuel for Fuel Cell Electrical Vehicles with Sensors—Available Technology, Testing Protocols and Implementation Challenges

Europe’s low-carbon energy policy favors a greater use of fuel cells and technologies based on hydrogen used as a fuel. Hydrogen delivered at the hydrogen refueling station must be compliant with requirements stated in different standards. Currently, the quality control process is performed by offline analysis of the hydrogen fuel. It is, however, beneficial to continuously monitor at least some of the contaminants onsite using chemical sensors. For hydrogen quality control with regard to contaminants, high sensitivity, integration parameters, and low cost are the most important requirements. In this study, we have reviewed the existing sensor technologies to detect contaminants in hydrogen, then discussed the implementation of sensors at a hydrogen refueling stations, described the state-of-art in protocols to perform assessment of these sensor technologies, and, finally, identified the gaps and needs in these areas. It was clear that sensors are not yet commercially available for all gaseous contaminants mentioned in ISO14687:2019. The development of standardized testing protocols is required to go hand in hand with the development of chemical sensors for this application following a similar approach to the one undertaken for air sensors.

Constructivism in Education

In light of the broad, multidimensional, and contestable nature of constructivism, a central debate concerns the object of construction. What do we mean when we say that a learner is constructing something? Three general categories, with overlaps in between, are: the construction of meaning, the construction of knowledge, and the construction of knowledge claims. To construct meaning is to make sense of something by understanding both its parts and overall message. To construct knowledge is to obtain what philosophers traditionally call “justified true belief.” There are three conditions in this formulation of knowledge: belief, truth, and justification. Beliefs are intentional, meaningful, and representational, directing a person to attain truth and avoid error with respect to the very thing that person accepts. As for the notions of truth and justification, there are three major theories of truth, namely the correspondence theory, coherence theory, and pragmatic theory; and seven main types of justification, namely perception, reason, memory, testimony, faith, introspection, and intuition. Finally, to construct a knowledge claim is to indicate that one thinks that one knows something. The crucial difference between knowledge and a knowledge claim is that the latter has not acquired the status of knowledge. There are two main implications for teaching and learning that arise from an epistemological exploration of the concept of constructivism: First, educators need to be clear about what they want their students to construct, and how the latter should go about doing it. Informed by learner profiles and other contingent factors, educators should encourage their students to construct meanings, knowledge, and knowledge claims, individually and collaboratively, throughout their schooling years. Second, educators need to guard against some common misconceptions on constructivism in the schooling context. Constructivism, contrary to popular belief, is compatible with direct instruction, teacher guidance, structured learning, content learning, traditional assessment, and standardized testing. In sum, there are no pedagogical approaches and assessment modes that are necessarily constructivist or anticonstructivist. A variety of teaching methods, resources, and learning environments should therefore be employed to support students in their constructing process.

Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension: How to Define, Diagnose, and Treat At-Risk Patients

Introduction Pulmonary hypertension is a devastating disease with a rapid progression of symptoms leading to high patient mortality. It is characterized by high blood pressure in the pulmonary vasculature and poor pulmonary perfusion, resulting in patient fatigue, dyspnea, and syncope, especially upon physical exertion. A sub-clinical form of pulmonary hypertension also exists which is referred to as exercise induced pulmonary hypertension, where patients display normal resting hemodynamic properties but abnormal pulmonary responses to exercise. Discussion Recent evidence suggests early intervention and treatment of pulmonary hypertension can improve patient outcomes. However, there is a lack of clinical evidence supporting effective treatments for exercise induced pulmonary hypertension (EIPH), arguably the earliest stage of pulmonary hypertension. This is due in part to the removal of EIPH from official guidelines such as the European Respiratory Society in 2008. EIPH was removed from clinical guidelines due to a lack of consensus on the definition and standardized testing procedures for diagnosing EIPH. Emerging evidence suggests that exercise testing following a standardized protocol of stress echocardiography or right heart catheterization of patients may allow for the classification of EIPH as a mean pulmonary artery pressure/cardiac output slope > 3 mmHg/L/min, and/or mean pulmonary artery pressure > 30 mmHg with a pulmonary vascular resistance > 3 Wood Units. Conclusion Providing evidence for a consensus definition of EIPH, along with a validated, standardized testing procedure, will hopefully foster the progression of research on EIPH and further the development of treatments and improve patient outcomes for people with pulmonary hypertension.

Reimagining american education: Possible futures: Possible futures for equitable educational assessment

The COVID-19 pandemic led states and districts to take a break from grading students and pause standardized testing. As part of an ongoing series of articles on how schools might reconceptualize their work, William Penuel considers what kinds of assessment practices should be carried forward, as schools attempt to become more equitable. He suggests that schools look to work students create as evidence of learning, that they ensure their assessment practices recognize students’ various cultures, and that they use student work to make connections with families and community members.

The perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students’ future careers

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted medical education on multiple levels, and medical students have been forced to adjust to distance learning, altered clinical opportunities, and standardized testing inconsistencies. We sought to identify the effects of these dramatic deviations on medical students’ career plans. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of medical students between July 13, 2020, and September 9, 2020 in order to assess the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ career decisions. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables. Results: Of the 585 eligible medical students, we had a final sample of 76 responses (n=76) (13% response rate). Students felt neutral regarding having more time to explore research projects (Mean ± SD; 3.06 ± 1.18) and hobbies (3.43 ± 1.28). Most survey respondents somewhat disagreed that they considered quitting medical school during the pandemic (1.55 ± 1.10). Students somewhat agreed that they view the field of medicine more positively since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (3.60 ± 1.09). Respondents somewhat agreed that they would be unable to explore other specialties and find their best fit (3.55 ± 1.32). We found that the minority (4/66, 6%) of students had considered changing their specialty. Students felt neutral in terms of their Step 1 (3.25 ± 1.05) or Step 2 (2.81 ± 1.02) score deterring them from future career opportunities. Conclusions: Most medical students have experienced barriers in their career pathway as a direct cause of COVID-19 restrictions on medical education, including the ability to explore different specialties to discover their best fit or find a chance to network with mentors. However, despite these obstacles, most students remain committed to medicine.

Language Assessment in Multilingualism and Awake Neurosurgery

Multilingualism has become a worldwide phenomenon that poses critical issues about the language assessment in patients undergoing awake neurosurgery in eloquent brain areas. The accuracy and sensitivity of multilingual perioperative language assessment procedures is crucial for a number of reasons: they should be appropriate to detect deficits in each of the languages spoken by the patient; they should be suitable to identify language-specific cortical regions; they should ensure that each of the languages of a multilingual patient is tested at an adequate and comparable level of difficulty. In clinical practice, a patient-tailored approach is generally preferred. This is a necessary compromise since it is impossible to predict all the possible language combinations spoken by individuals and thus the availability of standardized testing batteries is a potentially unattainable goal. On the other hand, this leads to high inconsistency in how different neurosurgical teams manage the linguistic features that determine similarity or distance between the languages spoken by the patient and that may constrain the neuroanatomical substrate of each language. The manuscript reviews the perioperative language assessment methodologies adopted in awake surgery studies on multilingual patients with brain tumor published from 1991 to 2021 and addresses the following issues: (1) The language selected for the general neuropsychological assessment of the patient. (2) The procedures adopted to assess the dimensions that may constrain language organization in multilingual speakers: age and type of acquisition, exposure, proficiency, and use of the different languages. (3) The type of preoperative language assessment used for all the languages spoken by the patient. (4) The linguistic tasks selected in the intraoperative setting. The reviewed data show a great heterogeneity in the perioperative clinical workup with multilingual patients. The only exception is the task used during language mapping, as the picture naming task is highly preferred. The review highlights that an objective and accurate description of both the linguistic profile of multilingual patients and the specific properties of the languages under scrutiny can profitably support clinical management and decision making in multilingual awake neurosurgery settings.

Assessment Effectiveness and Anxiety: Students´ Perception

Traditional methods of assessing university students' speaking and writing abilities, especially those in creative design fields, can be perceived both impractical and monotonous. This study aims to show college students' perception of the degree of effectiveness of the tools currently being used to assess them, either through authentic assessment or through standardized testing, and whether or not anxiety plays any role in their performance. 21 graphic design students at a private university in Madrid taking a course in advanced English for Specific purposes (ESP) completed the survey. The survey, mostly qualitative, asked students to evaluate how effective were the different forms of authentic assessment, both in speaking and writing, compared to the standardized tests they were mainly and currently evaluated on. The results of the survey found that students, in general, deemed the various forms of authentic assessment more effective, albeit not in a significant way. Similarly, there was no clear difference between the anxiety levels authentic assessment produced versus standardized and classical formative assessment. Not surprisingly however, most students preferred the use of social media platforms, such as Instagram as a form of writing assessment, even though they did not consider it valid. Hopefully, this paper will have positive implications to encourage syllabus designers and material developers to consider students' perceptions and preferences on the assessment process while keeping in mind what their fields of choice expect once they become professionals, as current trends and attitudes on assessment should be more in line with the industry.

What pandemic-related test waiver requests suggest about states’ testing priorities

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened tensions around standardized testing policy and prompted the United States Department of Education to allow states to request waivers from federal standardized testing requirements. Paul Bruno and Dan Goldhaber describe the waivers that states requested and received, what they suggest about how state test results might be used for different purposes and by different people, and what uses of testing seem to be most salient to policy makers. They conclude with recommendations for policy makers about how to design testing policy that can both improve educational outcomes and maintain robust political support, objectives achieved at best imperfectly by existing testing policy.