Exploring the Challenges of Tertiary Students in Non-Laboratory Courses After the First Year of Emergency Remote Teaching

<p style="text-align: justify;">Shortly after the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic began, studies on the challenges faced by tertiary students during Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) became available. However, the data sets were harvested early, as many countries began implementing ERT in response to the pandemic in March 2020. Many recent studies have failed to distinguish between the challenges faced by students enrolled in the laboratory and non-laboratory courses. There is still a dearth of literature on the difficulties encountered by students enrolled in non-laboratory courses following the first year of ERT implementation. The purpose of this paper was to examine the various challenges faced by tertiary students enrolled in non-laboratory courses following the conclusion of the first year of ERT implementation. Contextualized in two state-owned higher education institutions in northern Luzon, this study employed a fundamental qualitative approach, with focus group discussions (FGDs) serving as the primary data collection technique. Five major themes emerged from the FGDs with 42 purposively selected tertiary students. These themes presented in the spider web illustration include (1) student-focused challenges, (2) instructional material-related challenges, (3) instructor-emanating challenges, (4) technology-related challenges, and (5) student support-related challenges. This article concludes that these issues must be dealt with immediately to facilitate the implementation of ERT in non-laboratory courses. These difficulties may also be dimensions of concerns about distance education, particularly in non-urban areas of the Philippines. The themes also provide some actual pictures of the student challenges in the initial year of ERT in college. This paper highlighted some implications for pedagogy and educational management, as well as future research directions.</p>

Internet methodology - difficulties and opportunities offered by the Internet in conducting research. Analysis of the phenomenon in the light of the literature on the subject

Aim. A theoretical review of the opportunities and functions of the application enabling the creation of internet surveys. Assessment of their use in accordance with own opinion and the analysis of the literature on the subject.Methods. Analysis of the literature on the subject and a summary of the description of the survey conducted on the basis of a questionnaire examining the interesting phenomenon of e-methodology and an opinion on distance learning. The authors analysed the advantages and disadvantages of the tools used in online research. The aforementioned experiences of the researchers refer to the experience gained during research on e-methodology.Results and conclusion. The interest in this medium as a tool for social and psychological research has been growing rapidly in the last ten years. The very rapid development of technology that has taken place during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to easilyconduct a research survey using the network, which can easily replace any labour-intensive data collection through inquiry. In addition, many different tools and techniques have been created that use the so-called “Global spider web” in conducting my own research. Theresearcher abandons direct contact with the respondent and devotes himself to the analysis of the phenomenon that interests him by analysing the given Internet environment, social groups that express themselves on a given topic or share their work on specifi c problems. However, the global network is not only a chance for good, innovative approach to research, but also threats and related difficulties. One of the most important weaknesses of the network is the fact that we can never be sure who is on the other end of the computer.Cognitive value. Presentation of new ways of conducting scientific research via the network, presenting my own analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the e-methodology phenomenon. Analysing the phenomenon of internet methodology, welearn that the tendency to participate in internet research is increasing. However, motivation to participate in internet research is not always sufficient, as mentioned by many researchers. There are many ways to infl uence the attractiveness of the research and the motivation to participate in the research. Thanks to this article, we also learn that it is still necessary to conduct further methodological research on increasing the effectiveness of Internet research and minimising errors associated with it. The issues presented in this article reflect the current methodological knowledge. We can predict that as the Internet grows and new technical opportunities emerge - such as video-enabled applications, among others - new methodological issues will arise that may be of interest to researchers.

Claudio Fogu. The Fishing Net and The Spider Web: Mediterranean Imaginaries and the Making of Italians

Review of Fogu, C. (2020). The Fishing Net and The Spider Web: Mediterranean Imaginaries and the Making of Italians. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 296 pp.

Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Prevalence in Aerosol and Spiders’ Webs in Karst Caves: Low Risk for Speleotherapy

A total of 152 aerosol and spider web samples were collected: 96 spider’s webs in karst areas in 4 European countries (Czech Republic, France, Italy, and Slovakia), specifically from the surface environment (n = 44), photic zones of caves (n = 26), and inside (aphotic zones) of caves (n = 26), 56 Particulate Matter (PM) samples from the Sloupsko-Sosuvsky Cave System (speleotherapy facility; n = 21) and from aerosol collected from the nearby city of Brno (n = 35) in the Czech Republic. Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) were isolated from 13 (13.5%) spider’s webs: 5 isolates of saprophytic NTM (Mycobacterium gordonae, M. kumamotonense, M. terrae, and M. terrae complex) and 6 isolates of potentially pathogenic NTM (M. avium ssp. hominissuis, M. fortuitum, M. intracellulare, M. peregrinum and M. triplex). NTM were not isolated from PM collected from cave with the speleotherapy facility although mycobacterial DNA was detected in 8 (14.3%) samples. Temperature (8.2 °C, range 8.0–8.4 °C) and relative humidity (94.7%, range 93.6–96.6%) of air in this cave were relatively constant. The average PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentration was 5.49 µg m−3 and 11.1 µg m−3. Analysed anions (i.e., F−, Cl−, NO2−, SO42−, PO43− and NO3−) originating largely from the burning of wood and coal for residential heating in nearby villages in the surrounding area. The air in the caves with speleotherapy facilities should be monitored with respect to NTM, PM and anions to ensure a safe environment.

Multicriteria Visual Approach to the Analysis of Water Quality—A Case Study of the Tisa River Basin in Serbia

The aim of this research is to provide the assessment of water quality with a wider scheme of interrelations between the water quality parameters and locations using a reliable visual approach of multicriteria PROMETHEE and GAIA methods. The case study of one of the largest and regionally most important catchment areas on the territory of the Republic of Serbia—the Tisa River Basin—was therein used. The analysis of water quality included scenarios for warm (summer), cold (winter), and average annual period. A partial and complete ranking of locations according to the quality of water was performed by applying the PROMETHEE method and expanded afterward by GAIA method analysis to point out critical locations with endangered water quality (M6, M4, and M11). Identified locations were then investigated in more detail using spider web graphs that revealed water quality variables of concern (PO4-P and N) and indicated the causes of its occurrence. The obtained results are in accordance with the results of physical and chemical tests that are regularly conducted by the official government agencies for environmental protection and the reports that are presented to the public. The presented approach can easily be applied to any water body to point out both the locations with reduced water quality and the specific parameters (causes) that affect the reduction of water quality at these locations, thereby enhancing and strengthening usual water quality assessments as well as water resources management in general.

Refractory hypertension secondary to renal artery stenosis with a honeycomb-like structure

Background A honeycomb-like structure (HLS) is a rare abnormality characterized by a braid-like appearance. Angiograph and intravascular examination, including coherence tomography and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), can further confirm the multiple intraluminal channels or honeycomb structure, which can also be described as looking like ‘swiss cheese’, a ‘spider web’ or a ‘lotus root’. Previous studies have mostly reported this abnormality in coronary arteries, with a few cases in renal arteries. More information about the characteristics and development of HLS is needed. Case presentation A 69-year-old Han man with resistant hypertension received abdominal enhanced computerised tomography and was revealed to have left renal artery stenosis with the possibility of left renal infarction. Renal artery angiography confirmed a 95% stenosis located in the proximal segment of the left renal artery, and the middle segment was blurred with multi-channel-like blood flow. Further IVUS was performed and identified multiple channels surrounded by fibrous tissue. It was a rare case of HLS in the renal artery secondary to the thrombus, with organisation and recanalisation. Balloon dilatation and stent implantation at the proximal segment of the left renal artery were performed successfully. Blood pressure was well controlled after the procedure. Conclusions The IVUS findings are helpful for forming interventional therapeutic strategies for HLS lesions in the renal artery.

Research on Aluminum Honeycomb Buffer Device for Soft Landing on the Lunar Surface

To obtain the resources of the moon, humans have launched a series of exploration activities on the moon, and the landing buffer device is an indispensable device on the lander required to perform lunar surface exploration missions. It can effectively protect the lander during landing scientific payloads such as instruments on the lander. Based on the mechanical properties and deformation mechanism of the aluminum honeycomb as buffer material, this paper compares and analyzes different simulation schemes and finally establishes the bonding model of the honeycomb by using the discrete element method; the parameters of the honeycomb material are matched through compression experiments to verify the discrete element honeycomb simulation and the feasibility of the scheme and its parameters. To meet the buffering requirements of large landers, a spider web honeycomb structure is proposed, its modeling method is studied by using the discrete element secondary development program, and the model is compressed as a whole to verify the energy consumption characteristics of the spider web honeycomb structure. Aiming at the honeycomb buffer device during the landing process, the cobweb honeycomb buffer structure and its corresponding landing coupling model were established using the discrete element method, the landing process was simulated and analyzed, and the landing results were predicted to verify the feasibility of the device, providing a reference for the design of the lander and its buffer device.