Psychosocial, cultural, and academic challenges to Saudi Arabian students in Australia

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the perceptions of Saudi Arabian medical disciplines students undergoing training in various institutes of Australia regarding psychosocial, cultural, and academic challenges. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was from March 15 to June 15, 2019. Data were collected by an online questionnaire. It consisted of questions regarding demographic, psychosocial, cultural, and academic challenges. Two hundred nineteen students studying in Australia responded to our questionnaire. RESULTS: Of the total 219 students, 13(6.0%) were undergraduate, 167(76%) were postgraduate, and 39(18%) were Ph.D. students. For most students (171[79.2%]), Australia was the country of choice for studying. Most of them were satisfied with their academic performance and adjustment to the Australian way of living. Most of the students (180[82.2%]) showed satisfaction over the availability of fair chances of their religious practices in Australia. Few of them faced difficulties coping with the Australian climate (25[11.4%]), homesickness (59[26.9%]), and food and dietary sources (44[20.1%]). Students were overall satisfied with the student advisory system (156[71.2%]), university assessments (147[67.2%]), and available research facilities (170[77.6%]). Among participants, 77 (35.1%), 119(54.3%), and 23(10.5%) students indicated that they wished to stay in Australia only until completion of their studies, temporarily and permanently, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed that Saudi students in Australia had strong psychosocial well-being, cultural integration, and academic success. Most of them were satisfied and adjusted well to Australian culture

Addressing a community need: assessing the confidence and attitude of senior medical students in responding to in-flight emergencies

Traveling physicians will likely be called for medical assistance on board. In-flight medical emergencies (IMEs) are common and occur in a complex environment with limited medical resources. This study evaluated senior medical students’ willingness, understanding, confidence, and attitudes toward IMEs and their willingness to respond to them. This cross-sectional study was conducted among senior medical students in the College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. These medical students were sent a self-administered online questionnaire, which consisted of basic demographic data, a survey to evaluate IME experiences, and a 10-item questionnaire to assess the attitude of students. Among 302 medical students, 52.3% were males, while 66.9% were over 22 years old. The prevalence of students who attended life support training was 62.6%, which was highly significant among the 5th-year level (p = 0.001). Neutral attitudes were found in most students (87.7%); 4.6% had positive attitudes, while 7.6% had negative ones. Being at the 5th-year level and having previous participation in life support training were associated with an increased attitude toward in-flight medical emergencies. The attitude of senior medical students toward IMEs was less than desired. However, the attitude was better among 5th-year medical students who attended training courses on managing IMEs. Thus, participation in training courses influenced the willingness to manage such cases. Subsequently, longitudinal studies are needed to extract more data on the knowledge and confidence of medical students toward IMEs

Effect of some biotic factors on microbially-induced calcite precipitation in cement mortar

Sporosarcina pasteurii, a common soil bacterium has been tested for microbial treatment of cement mortar. The present study also seeks to investigate the effects of growth medium, bacterial concentration and different buffers concerning the preparation of bacterial suspensions on the compressive strength of cement mortar. Two growth media, six different suspensions and two bacterial concentrations were used in the study. The influence of growth medium on calcification efficiency of S. pasteurii was insignificant. Significant improvement in the compressive as well as the tensile strength of cement mortar was observed. Microbial mineral precipitation visualized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) shows fibrous material that increased the strength of cement mortar. Formation of thin strands of fillers observed through SEM micrographs improves the pore structure, impermeability and thus the compressive as well as the tensile strengths of the cement mortar. The type of substrate and its molarity have a significant influence on the strength of cement mortar

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Testing stock market efficiency in the weak form: Evidence from the Dow Jones Islamic indices

Market efficiency is one of the most controversial topics in the finance literature. Over the past four decades, academics and practitioners have widely examined the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) in conventional developed and developing financial markets. However, the limited number of studies on Islamic indices found within the literature stresses the need for additional scrutiny as to whether the claim of religious or moral Islamic principles may have led investors to make sacrifices in market efficiency. This thesis provides an empirical understanding for policy makers, investors, portfolio managers and researchers, whether individual or institutional, on Islamic investing in equity markets governed by Islamic laws

INELASTIC BEHAVIOR OF SINGLE ANGLE COLUMNS.

The study examines the behavior of pinned-end, centrally loaded columns of monosymmetric and asymmetric cross sections, with emphasis on angle shapes. The investigation covers flexural and flexural-torsional buckling in the elastic and inelastic ranges, which the aim of developing a rational method of predicting the buckling load for cross sections with low torsional rigidity and single or no axes of symmetry. The computer program that was developed takes into account the effect of residual stresses. The properties of the cross section were determined in the laboratory and utilized in the computer model. Full-scale column tests were run to verify the theoretical model. The results shows that equal-legged angles with low width-to-thickness ratio have flexural and flexural-torsional buckling loads that are less than 2% different. It is therefore suitable to continue using a flexural buckling solution for such shapes. This is also true for equal-legged angles with a high width-to-thickness ratio that fail in the elastic range, but in the inelastic range the flexural-torsional buckling load was about 11% less than the flexural buckling load. When the angle is unequal-legged, the flexural-torsional buckling load is always smaller than the corresponding flexural buckling load, in both the elastic and the inelastic ranges. The average difference between the flexural and flexural-torsional load for unequal-legged angle ranges from 3% in the elastic range to 10% in the inelastic range. The average ratio of the experimental results to the minimum of the theoretical results was 0.95 and the coefficient of variation was 0.053. Comparison with the results of other researchers show that it is possible to formulate an empirical formula that can be used in designing columns that are made of monosymmetric or asymmetric cross sections. However, due to the scarcity of data at this stage, it is recommended that the development of such a formula be postponed until additional test data are available. Moreover, in designing any cross section that does not have two axes of symmetry, it is advisable to check the possibility of flexural and flexural-torsional buckling

Influence of Severe Hot-Dry Climate on the Mechanical Properties of Fibrous Reinforced Concrete Beams

This paper presents the results of the work carried out to study the influence of curing environment and steel fiber volume fraction on the flexural strength, flexural rigidity, flexural toughness, and ductility of fibrous reinforced concrete (RC) beams. A total of twenty simply supported beams were tested. Ten of the twenty beams were cured under controlled laboratory conditions and the other ten were cured under severe hot dry climate (SHDC) characterized by their intense heat, low relative humidity, direct solar radiation, and large diurnal variations of daily temperatures. Tests were carried out 28 and 90 days after casting.Test results show that for non fibrous RC concrete beams the adverse effects of SHDC have more influence in reducing the flexural toughness than the flexural strength. On the other hand, test results indicate that under any of the two curing environment considered in this study, the flexural strength, flexural rigidity, flexural toughness and ductility of the fibrous RC beams are in direct proportion with the fiber content. Moreover, the results reveal that the enhancements in these engineering properties due to the steel fiber addition are not affected by the above described severe field conditions. Furthermore, inclusion of steel fibers in concrete helps, to some extent, in reducing the adverse effects of SHDC on the properties of concrete

Non-Linear Finite Element Analysis for RC Elements Subjected to In-Plane Loads

A non-linear iterative solution of finite element formulation implemented a 486 personal computer for predicting the cracking shapes and their propagation in reinforced concrete elements subjected to in-plane stresses is presented. The model is based on a smeared crack representation and a plane stress state simulation. It considers the influence of concrete tension stiffening after cracking, compressive stress degradation due to cracking, and single and double crack conditions. The reliability of the model is checked against the experimental results for specimens that were tested by the author as well as those tested by other researchers. Comparisons of the results show that the proposed model predicts the measured results with an overall average error of 2% and a coefficient of variation of 1.48. This work forms an effective tool for investigation of inelastic behavior of a concrete and reinforcing bar composite