Every year thousands of students make preparations to pursue a college degree. Many are high school seniors, but a large percentage of the population are nontraditional age students who are years removed from a formal classroom setting. Included in the list of preparations is an examination whose results will be used to determine each individual’s readiness to be academically successful at the collegiate level. These examinations assess student’s abilities in the areas of reading, English composition, and mathematics. The results of these examinations show that at the community college level more than half of these students will need remediation in one of these subject areas. Mathematics is most often the area where deficiencies are identified. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if there are significant differences between 4 mathematics learning support models based on student performance in 2 college level mathematics courses at a 2-year community college in Tennessee. The subjects of this study were students who were enrolled in MATH 1530, Probability and Statistics, or MATH 1630, Finite Mathematics, from the fall 2011 semester through the spring 2016 semester. Students with ACT, SAT, or ACT Compass exam scores meeting or exceeding established benchmark scores were excluded from the study. Each record also included the learning support model each student participated in, the final letter grade for the course, grouped ACT mathematics subscores, age grouping, and enrollment status. The results of the study indicated significant differences in student success between learning support models for all research questions involving MATH 1530, Probability and Statistics. Comparisons between ACT mathematics subscore groupings, age groupings, and enrollment status also indicated significant differences in student success. In each case, the current corequisite learning support model proved to be the least successful in preparing students for success in MATH 1530. Three of the 8 research questions involving MATH 1630, Finite Mathematics, also indicated significant differences in student success between learning support models, with the current corequisite learning support model proving less successful in preparing students for success in MATH 1630.

Water remediation utilizing sorption has found strong interest due to its inexpensiveness, universal nature and ease of operation. In particular, thermo-responsive sorbents consisting of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) offer significant potential as “smart” and advanced materials to remove multiple aqueous pollutants. NIPAAm exhibits excellent thermo-responsiveness, which senses the external temperature variation and changes its swelling and sorption behaviors in a sharp and rapid manner. At the beginning of this work, an extensive review of literature has been compiled to provide a summary of NIPAAm-based thermo-responsive sorbents in water/wastewater remediation applications. Initially, we developed a novel approach to synthesize and characterize NIPAAm copolymeric hydrogels. Four different polyphenolic crosslinkers including curcumin multiacrylate (CMA), quercetin multiacrylate (QMA), 4,4’-dihydroxybiphenyl diacrylate (44BDA) and chrysin multiacrylate (ChryMA) were successfully incorporated into crosslinked hydrogels. Their temperature responsiveness and lower critical solution temperature (LCST) were characterized using swelling studies and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Increasing the crosslinker content resulted in a significant decrease in the swelling ratio and LCST, which was due to the increased crosslinking and hydrophobicity introduced by the polyphenolic crosslinkers. We also demonstrated the application of two sets of aforementioned crosslinked hydrogels (NIPAAm-co-CMA and NIPAAm-co-44BDA) as effective gel sorbents to capture phenol as a model contaminant. Temperature-dependent sorption was evaluated through a binding study of phenol at 10°C and 50°C. Significant enhancement in the sorption was observed at 50°C, and this can be attributed to the phase transition induced hydrophobic interactions between the copolymer gel and phenol. Moreover, the obtained hydrogels possessed facile and efficient regeneration ability in water at 10°C, without requiring harsh solvent treatment or high energy input. Building on the sorption behavior observed with crosslinked NIPAAm hydrogels, we extended the investigation to linear copolymer systems, and these were demonstrated as a temperature responsive flocculants. Here, NIPAAm copolymers consisting of 2-phenylphenol monoacrylate (2PPMA) were successfully developed as smart flocculants to remove metal oxide nanoparticles (e.g., Fe3O4, CeO2, TiO2). The incorporation of 2PPMA enhanced the flocculation at temperatures above the LCST (e.g., 50°C), which was due to the combined hydrophobicity of 2PPMA and NIPAAm. Overall, NIPAAm-based sorbents have a variety of applications in aqueous pollutant removal and are a promising class of materials for cost-effective water remediation technology.

Providing access to clean drinking water will continue to be a challenge for civil engineers for generations to come. Since many communities around the world rely on groundwater as a source of drinking water, remediation technologies must be implemented at sites where groundwater contamination exists due to years of mismanagement of hazardous waste. Using nanosized zero-valent metals such as iron and zinc embedded within and on the surface of functionalized (PAA) membrane filters has shown to be an effective dechlorination technique for contaminated groundwater. Introducing a noble metal such as Pd or Ni increases reaction rates by acting a catalyst for the dechlorination reaction. This study focuses on the treatment of contaminated groundwater at a hazardous waste site in Louisville, Kentucky. Once a chlorinated organic chemical manufacturing plant, the site now operates a treatment system for the contaminated groundwater to prevent migration into the nearby Ohio River. A portable membrane treatment system, built at the University of Kentucky, incorporates this functionalized bimetallic membrane technology for treatment of the groundwater found at the former manufacturing plant. Three bench scale tests were performed with membrane treatment system using DI water spiked with the chemical trichloroethylene (TCE). Results showed that using the functionalized Fe/Pd membranes significant decreased TCE concentrations over time. While further tests should be conducted to verify the results of the preliminary bench-scale tests, the membrane treatment system shows potential for use at the hazardous waste site in Kentucky.

Although British West Indian Caribbean (BWIC) immigrant students are considered to be English speaking students by U.S. public schools, many of them speak other languages. These students experience hardships and have unique remediation needs that many schools are not providing. The conceptual frameworks that guided this case study were sociocultural theory, acculturation theory, and leadership theory. These theories postulate that culture influences learning, second language acquisition is linked to adapting to a new culture, and leadership is important to implement system-wide changes. Qualitative data included interviews with 6 teachers and 3 administrators who work closely with BWIC students, New York City Department of Education English Language Test results of 512 students, and 26 BWIC student school enrollment forms. Data were analyzed through a coding process to determine emergent patterns and themes. Key findings indicated that participants identified the students' academic struggles with Standard English and that teachers experiment with various strategies to reach the students. Recommendations include development of identification and remediation programs for BWIC students and additional research on strategies to teach English to these students. Study findings may promote positive social change by encouraging school districts to work with the Caribbean-American community to help increase BWIC student retention rates.

Evidence-based remediation options are limited for nursing students who fail their clinical competency evaluations. Scholarly literature provides a paucity of studies related to the use of simulation-based technology to remediate nursing students. The research question focused on the difference in the initial competency demonstration evaluation scores of associate degree nursing students compared to the reevaluation scores after remediation with simulation-based technology. Benner's novice to expert and Kolb's experiential learning theories were used to explain how nurses acquire and develop skills. The researcher used a quantitative one-group pretest posttest design to examine archival data from 149 nursing students from a South-Central United States community college who failed their initial competency evaluation and were remediated with simulation-based technology. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the precompetency scores to the after remediation scores and was found to have a statistically significant improvement in students' scores following simulation remediation. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted showing the competency evaluation questions were measuring the construct they were designed to measure. This study supports prior research findings by substantiating the positive benefits of simulation adding to the limited body of research related to simulation used for remediation. This study can make a positive impact on the nursing profession and the community by contributing to the body of knowledge for those who seek additional methods for students to achieve clinical success. Future studies are needed to validate these findings, which indicate that remediation with simulation-based technology can assist with student retention and promote student success.

Simulated oil spills were created in S. alterniflora sediment-water microcosms to determine the effects of applied crude oil on S.alterniflora during two 90-day studies. In the first experiment, oil dosage was varied at 0-250 mg crude oil/g wet soil to determine the lethal dosage level. In the second experiment, oil type, dosage, and soil type were varied to determine the effects of oil under multiple scales of resolution. A light, medium, and heavy crude oil at dosages ranging from 0-150 mg crude oil/g wet soil were used in addition to an oiled and non-oiled soil. Following the completion of the 90-day experiment, several key findings were observed: (1) The lethal dosage limit was reached at 250 mg crude oil/g wet soil during the first experiment but not the second, by design; (2) At initial dosages of 10 and 50 mg crude oil/g wet soil, the oiled soil (acclimated for 4 months) was more influential in decreasing cumulative biomass growth rates compared to oil applied at the oil-water interface; (3) At the heaviest dosages applied as a simulated oil slick, concentrations of 150 mg crude oil/g wet soil, evapotranspiration rates were negatively affected by the oil (significant at p=0.05 in a one-tailed t-test); (4) Light, heavy, and then medium crude oil showed the lowest biomass growths, in that order, indicating that light crude oil was the most toxic in these microcosm experiments with S. alterniflora; (5) The 10 mg oil/g wet soil out-performed the 0 mg oil/g wet soil in transpiration and biomass growth.

In order to protect natural resources and ecosystems at Eglin Air Force Base (EAFB), a strategy must be developed for the containment and/or treatment of explosive contaminants on testing and training ranges under continuous use. Phytoremediation is the direct use of living plants for in situ (in place) remediation of contaminated soil, sludges, sediments, and groundwater through contaminant removal, degradation, or containment. Due to its ability to continuously treat large areas at low cost with low impact to the site, phytoremediation was implemented through a field study at EAFB in order to increase range sustainability.

Pollution of the earth's water resources, including freshwater sources such as lakes and rivers, by heavy metals have been a detriment to the environment for as long as the industrial age of man. As these metallic pollutants accumulate in the supply of precious groundwater and drinking water the need for clean-up technologies to combat the increasing threat is becoming of more importance to government and industry alike. Previous work has established the possibility of using known chelating agents, such as LIX-54® supported on silica gel in the removal of selected heavy metal ions such as copper(II), nickel(II) , and cadmium(II) from standard aqueous solutions (Norris and coworkers, 1996). Remediation of heavy metals using coordinating agents such as dithiooxamides and aliphatic amines has also been an environmental cleanup technology that has proven to be effective in the uptake of selected heavy metals from aqueous media (Poore and coworkers, 1996). The current study illustrates the effectiveness of using relatively inexpensive coordinating agents such as aliphatic amines and aliphatic thiols supported on silica gel and other solid supports to remove selected monovalent and divalent metals from aqueous standard solutions to achieve similar results. This study also reports the significance and results of an investigation involving the use of bifunctional compounds, such as 2-mercaptoethanol, to chemically attach and modify the silica gel, montmorillonite KSF, and magnetite, and subsequently be used in the uptake of selected heavy metals such as copper(II), cadmium(II), lead(II), nickel(II) and silver(I) ions.

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