Cost-Effective Prosthetic Hand Controlled by EMG

A cost-effective five-finger prosthetic hand is designed from aluminum, modeled and controlled using surface Electromyography (EMG) signals, which are obtained from the human body. Force sensors are used to control required forces needed to grasp and pick objects. A prototype hand is developed and it is experimentally tested to reproduce a wide spectrum of human hand motions. The size of the five-finger hand is similar to an adult male human hand, and it is capable of reproducing most of movements. Each finger has the same number of links as the real/human hand. Each finger also has a force sensor used to sense applied forces to the fingertip, subsequently dictating to the amputee to take specific actions. By using a vibration motor, the amputee knows if any ‘object’ is in touch with the prosthetic hand. Compared to other existing (and more expensive hands that include biotic sensors and smart motors), it is shown and it is experimentally validated that this cost-effective prosthetic five-finger hand is durable, strong, and capable of reproducing hand motions

Modeling Twitter acceptance and use under the risk of antisocial behavior

The problem of online antisocial behavior is increasingly attracting public attention and is compromising the quality of online communities. Previous research on online hostility looked at different aspects of the problem such as its definition, classification, or studying specific case studies, however, the impact is still not clear. In this paper, we propose a new model to investigate the impact of antisocial behavior online, the model is based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), our model integrates the perception of antisocial behavior as a risk factor along with other factors drawn from sociology. Initial validation of our model was conducted through expert reviews, the reviews include interviews with experts from computer science, sociology, and psychology, who were asked to consider its application to Twitter (as one of the controversial cyberspaces when it comes to antisocial behavior). The results of both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the expert reviews show strong support to the proposed model

Participants’ Perceptions of MOOCs in Saudi Arabia

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which are typically short courses offered free to anyone with Internet access, provide opportunities for online education regardless of participants’ gender, professional status, qualifications, age or location. Since the international introduction of MOOCs in 2008 in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, they have attracted public attention and online learning researchers have already made headway in investigating their essence. However, although MOOCs were introduced to Saudi Arabia in 2013 and have gained the attention of Saudi government sectors such as the Ministry of Labour, little research has been published on the effects of MOOCs in the country. Therefore, this research, to the best of my knowledge, is the first to explore Saudi participants’ perceptions of MOOCs. As a Saudi teaching assistant at King Saud University in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), I can see a clear trend in Saudi education towards online learning. The use of online learning is perhaps one of the most important current developments in the education system (Algahtani, 2011) and it would be difficult to dispense with this kind of learning now. Therefore, after consulting with several Saudi professors in educational technology, I concluded that investigating Saudi participants’ perceptions of MOOCs could make a significant contribution to the evolution of Saudi education generally and online learning in particular, thus contributing to improving Saudi people’s culture. This study aimed to explore the cultural implications of MOOCs for Saudi participants with the main objective being to identify Saudi participants’ perceptions of MOOCs, specifically the impact of MOOCs on participants’ lives, their pedagogy and learning design, and their social environment. The data was collected using mixed methods through conducting surveys, observation, and interviews with participants. Consequently, participants’ perceptions are linked to the literature review and discussed in detail in relation to the Saudi Arabian context. Furthermore, recommendations are offered on how to maximise the potential of MOOCs alongside suggestions for further research. The conclusion of this study asserts that MOOCs are widely used by Saudi participants, especially women, due to MOOC flexibility and their contribution to the development of educational cultures. MOOCs contributed to improving participants’ knowledge and personalities, as well as developing their educational and professional lives; however, the study revealed that the benefits participants gained from MOOCs varied depending on their positions and aims. In addition, the findings showed that participants’ views regarding the effectiveness of the pedagogy and learning design of MOOCs differed. Moreover, the study highlighted several factors that affected participants’ learning in terms of course design and the rules of participation, and some insights are provided that could address the concerns participants raised. MOOCs can contribute to attaining Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 by providing courses that focus on educating Saudis and imparting the skills required for future employment and for effectively carrying out the jobs recently allocated to citizens

Flipped versus conventional classes in a Saudi Arabian university

This thesis presents an investigation of the implementation of the flipped classroom in higher education in Saudi Arabia, which addressed three main research questions: 1- Is there any difference in acquisition of knowledge, and student attitudes, between students who take a flipped class and those who take a conventional class? 2- Is there any difference in the use of time, and approach to study, between students who take a flipped class and a conventional class? 3- What factors affect the implementation of flipped class? The study compared two groups of students, those who learned using the flipped classroom and those who learned through traditional lectures followed by an activity session. In the flipped classroom, face-to-face time was reduced from 3 to 2 hours and activity time was doubled from 1 to 2 hours. The participants were 491 female students; half of them were taught in a flipped classroom and the other half by conventional method. Instructors, content, materials, assignments, and exam questions were the same in both groups. As this study used the mixed method approach, the data were collected by questionnaires, interviews, classroom observation, students’ diaries, and marks’ reports and Blackboard Learn reports. At the end of the course, there were no significant differences in test or assignment marks between students studying by the two methods. With regard to students’ attitudes toward the flipped classroom, 60% of the students in the flipped classroom reported that they preferred this method, whereas 14% of the students reported having a negative attitude toward it. About 45% of students in the flipped classroom group reported a positive attitude towards face-to-face lectures, differing significantly from the perspective of those in the conventional group, 75% of whom reported a positive attitude. However, even with the positive attitude toward flipped class, one of the main findings showed that only 39% of the learners “always” watched the videos as required, and the trend of watching the videos showed a decrease in the number of views over time. However, viewing rates increased sharply during the period of exam study, as learners watched these videos again, or even for the first time. This thesis also explores flipped classroom students’ study habits inside and outside the classroom, and investigates the factors behind these behaviours, including their motivations and the obstacles to study which they faced. For example, shortage of time and issues with students’ self-regulation were the main factors that hindered students from watching the videos, as a result, not watching the videos influenced the quality of their participation in classroom activity negatively. Investigating the students’ experience in flipped class also showed other factors which were related to the adoption of a strategic or surface approach to learning

Characterize Cold Bituminous Emulsion Mixtures Incorporated Ordinary Portland Cement Filler for Local Surface Layer

تمتلك الخلطات الاسفلتية ذات المستحلب البتيوميني الباردCBEM  عده مزايا بيئية ، اقتصادية ، ولوجستية بالمقارنه مع الخلطات الاسفلتية الحارهHMA . وبالرغم من ذلك ، هكذا نوع من الخلطات الاسفلتيه لا تجذب الباحثين والمنظمات بسبب ضعف ادائها وحساسيتها للماء . علاوة على ذلك، فأنه من المستحيل استخدامها لتبليط الطبقات السطحية بدون معالجتها او تحسينها. تهدف هذه الدراسة الى تعزيز الخلطات الاسفلتية الباردة على امل استخدامها كطبقة سطحيه في الطرق. تم استخدام السمنت البورتلاندي الاعتياديOPC لتحسين الخواص الميكانيكية والحجمية وخواص الديمومة ، واستبداله بالماده المالئه التقليديةCMF  وبثلاث نسب (0و50و 100%). تم تقييم الخصائص الميكانيكية للخلطات باستخدام فحص مارشال ، وفحص الشد غير المباشرITS، وفحص مسار العجلهWTT. في حين تم استخدام فحص الثبات المتبقي لمارشالRMS في تقييم مقاومه الخلطة لضرر الماء. بينت النتائج ان اضافة 100% من الاسمنت كماده مالئه يمكن ان تحسن الخواص الميكانيكية وخواص الديمومة للخلطات المستحلبة الباردة بكافئة عالية. حيث تبين من خلال الخصائص الميكانيكية والديمومة ان هكذا نوع من الخلطاتCBEM-100%OPC يمكن استخدامها كطبقة سطحيه للطرق بالاعتماد على المواصفات العراقية للطرق والجسور ، حيث ان الخلطه ذات المحتوى الاسمنتى 100% قد تحسنت بمقدار 1.9 ، 1.78، 9.4، و2.6 مره من حيث ثبات مارشالMS ، الانسيابMF، فحص الشد غير المباشرITS، فحص مسار العجلةWTT، وفحص تأثير الماءRMS  مقارنة بالخلطة الغير معالجة على التوالي. وكذلك اظهرت النتائج ان الخلطة الجديدة مقاربه (وفي بعض الاحيان تفوق) خواص الخلطة الحاره الاعتيادية ومثال على ذلك مقاومة الخلطة للتخدد قد تحسن بمقدار 6.2 مره. ومن الجدير بالقول ان ماده الاسمنت قد حسنت خواص الخلطة الاسفلتية الباردة الميكانيكة وخواص الديمومة الى حد ما يسمح باستخدامها كطبقة سطحية للطرق.Cold Bituminous Emulsion Mixtures have many environmental, logistical, and economic advantages over conventional Hot Mix Asphalt. Nevertheless, their inferior performance and high water sensitivity at early life attract little attentions. Moreover, it is impossible to apply CBEM as a structural surface layer if left without treatment or enhancement. The main aim of this study is to enhance the properties of CBEM for the hope of using it as a structural layer. Thus, a trial has been made to improve CBEM mechanical and durability properties by replacing the Ordinary Portland Cement by the Conventional Mineral Filler with 3 percentages; namely, 0, 50%, and 100%. CBEM mixtures mechanical properties were evaluated in term of Marshall Stability and Flow, Indirect Tensile Strength, and Wheel Track Test. While Moisture damage was evaluated in terms of Retained Marshall Stability. Test results showed that the addition of 100%OPC filler can improve CBEM mechanical and durability properties efficiently. In terms of mechanical properties results, CBEM comprised 100%OPC, can be used as a structural Surface layer based on local Iraqi specifications limits, where mixture enhanced about 1.9, 1.78, 9,4.85, and 2.6  times in term of MS, MF, rutting deformation resistance, resistance to tensile cracking, and moisture damage resistance, respectively as compared to untreated CBEM. Also, CBEM-100%OPC mix seemed comparable (and sometime superior) to HMA, e.g., resistance to rutting of CBEM is about 6.2 times higher than that of HMA. It’s worth to say that OPC upgrades CBEM to a significant level that enables it to use as a structural layer in terms of the mechanical and the durability properties

Knowledge and attitude towards mental illness among health and non-health university students in Riyadh

Background: Mental illness can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, and residence. Studying the attitude and knowledge about mental illnesses among university students is important, because they are the future decision makers dealing with such problems. The aim of this study was to assess level of knowledge and attitude towards mental illnesses among health and non-health university students in Riyadh.Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study on students of the governmental universities in Riyadh with both health and non-health speciality. The total sample size was 587 students. The questionnaire was designed electronically, and the link was distributed through social media. It included socio-demographic questions, 17 questions to assess knowledge and 22 questions to assess the attitudes. The statistical tests used were chi square, independent sample t-test, spearman’s correlation and multiple linear regression tests.Results: More than half of the participants had a positive attitude toward mental illness (52%). Only 13.46% of university students had good knowledge about mental illness. Significant higher level of good knowledge and positive attitude were reported among health college students compared to non-health (24.7% versus 7.9% for good knowledge and 60.8% versus 48.3 for positive attitude respectively). Attitude towards mental illness can be successfully predicted by using the knowledge score about mental illness and the type of college.Conclusion: Low percentage of university students had good knowledge about mental illness and their attitude towards mental illness was generally positive. Health college students had better attitude and knowledge about mental illness than non-health

A cross-sectional study of the actual use of eye drops in a Saudi community

Purpose: To investigate the actual use of eye drops with respect to their administration, storage, and disposal in a community in Saudi Arabia.Methods: A cross-sectional observational survey was conducted online. All the relevant data were collected using a standardized questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of three sections: demographic characteristics of the participants, attitude of participants with respect to the administration and storage of eye drops, and the participants’ understanding of the role of pharmacist in enhancing patients’ compliance with eye drop regimens.Results: A total of 720 participants were included in the study, viz, 229 males (31.8 %) and 491 females (68.2 %). Majority of the participants (82.5 %) indicated that they avoided touching their eyes with the bottle tip. Likewise, most participants (90.8 %) reported that they applied eye ointment after administering eye drops while 30.6 % allowed an interval of < 5 min between eye drop and ointment administration. However, 30.5 % of the participants gave an interval of 5 – 10 min between eye drop and ointment treatment. Furthermore, 32.5 % reported that they consistently washed their hands before administering eye drops, while only 29.6 % occasionally washed their hands.Conclusion: These results indicate that all the patients used eye drops improperly at some point in time, and thus, there is a need for counselling on the appropriate use of eye drops as an essential step towards successful treatment.Keywords: Eye drops, Ophthalmic preparations, Adherence, Instillatio

Cultured dissociated primary dorsal root ganglion neurons from adult horses enable study of axonal transport

Neurological disorders are prevalent in horses, but their study is challenging due to anatomic constraints and the large body size; very few host-specific in vitro models have been established to study these types of diseases, particularly from adult donor tissue. Here we report the generation of primary neuronal dorsal root ganglia (DRG) cultures from adult horses: the mixed, dissociated cultures, containing neurons and glial cells, remained viable for at least 90 days. Similar to DRG neurons in vivo, cultured neurons varied in size, and they developed long neurites. The mitochondrial movement was detected in cultured cells and was significantly slower in glial cells compared to DRG-derived neurons. In addition, mitochondria were more elongated in glial cells than those in neurons. Our culture model will be a useful tool to study the contribution of axonal transport defects to specific neurodegenerative diseases in horses as well as comparative studies aimed at evaluating species-specific differences in axonal transport and survival

Proteomic analysis of morphologically changed tissues after prolonged dexamethasone treatment

Prolonged dexamethasone (Dex) administration leads to serious adverse and decrease brain and heart size, muscular atrophy, hemorrhagic liver, and presence of kidney cysts. Herein, we used an untargeted proteomic approach using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for simultaneous identification of changes in proteomes of the major organs in Sprague-Dawley (SD rats post Dex treatment. The comparative and quantitative proteomic analysis of the brain, heart, muscle, liver, and kidney tissues revealed differential expression of proteins (n = 190, 193, 39, 230, and 53, respectively) between Dex-treated and control rats. Functional network analysis using ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA revealed significant differences in regulation of metabolic pathways within the morphologically changed organs that related to: (i) brain-cell morphology, nervous system development, and function and neurological disease; (ii) heart-cellular development, cellular function and maintenance, connective tissue development and function; (iii) skeletal muscle-nucleic acid metabolism, and small molecule biochemical pathways; (iv) liver-lipid metabolism, small molecular biochemistry, and nucleic acid metabolism; and (v) kidney-drug metabolism, organism injury and abnormalities, and renal damage. Our study provides a comprehensive description of the organ-specific proteomic profilesand differentially altered biochemical pathways, after prolonged Dex treatement to understand the molecular basis for development of side effects

Challenges of Autism Spectrum Disorders Families Towards Oral Health Care in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practice regarding oral health care among parents of autistic children and also the challenges faced by them in providing dental care for their Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) children’s in four regions of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Material and Methods:  In total, 263 parents of autistic children participated in this cross-sectional study who were enrolled from 4 major regions of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire formulated in simple Arabic was distributed to parents of children diagnosed with autism or any form of ASD. The questionnaires consisted of demographic questions and also to assess their knowledge on oral health, child’s oral hygiene practices and visits to their dentist, oral hygiene, experience and challenges in waiting room area before the dental treatment, acceptance of treatment or rejection, accessibility to find non-dental centers either government or private for treatment and their recommendations. Results: All the parents brushed their child’s teeth using a toothbrush and fluoridated toothpaste. A total of 29.7% of the parents informed that their child never brushes teeth. A total of 41.4% of the parents visit the dental clinic when the child complains about dental problems and 54% find difficulty in locating appropriate dental clinic to deal with their ASD children. Most parents reported taking their child to a private office (38.8%). Only 3.8% of parents reported that their children had seizures during dental procedures. Conclusion:  The knowledge toward oral health was found to be inadequate among the majority of the parents. Parents of ASD children need to be educated about the consequences of oral health neglect and the importance of regular check-ups