Mechanical Properties and Simulated Aging of Silicone Maxillofacial Elastomers: Advancements in the Past 45 Years

Purpose: To identify and discuss the findings of publications on mechanical behavior of maxillofacial prosthetic materials published since 1969. Methods: Original experimental articles reporting on mechanical properties of maxillofacial prosthetic materials were included. A two-stage search of the literature, electronic and hand search, identified relevant published studies up to May 2015. An extensive electronic search was conducted of databases including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Included primary studies (n = 63) reported on tensile strength, tear strength, and hardness of maxillofacial prosthetic materials at baseline and after aging. Results: The search revealed 63 papers, with more than 28 papers being published in the past 10 years, which shows an increased number of publications when compared to only 6 papers published in the 1970s. The increase is linear with significant correlation (r = 0.85). Such an increase reflects great awareness and continued developments and warrants more research in the field of maxillofacial prosthetic materials properties; however, it is difficult to directly compare results, as studies varied in maxillofacial prosthetic materials tested with various silicone elastomers being heavily investigated, standards followed in preparing test specimens, experimental testing protocols, and parameters used in setting simulated aging conditionings. Conclusion: It is imperative to overcome the existing variability by establishing unified national or international standards/specifications for maxillofacial prosthetic materials. Standardization organizations or bodies, the scientific community, and academia need to be coordinated to achieve this goal. In the meantime and despite all of these theoretically significant alternatives, clinical practice still faces problems with serviceability of maxillofacial prostheses. © 2016 by the American College of Prosthodontist

Study of Cultural Challenges Faced by the Arab Learners of English in the United States of America

Learning English poses many challenges to ESL/ EFL learners. These challenges are often attributed to differences in two different languages and the two different teaching and learning environments. However, along with the language teaching and learning related difficulties, ESL/EFL learners from certain communities also face other challenges due to cultural differences. This is quite noticeable in relation to Arab learners travelling to western countries like USA, UK, Canada, and Australia. Arab learners have to face cultural racism and negativity while studying and living in these countries. The negative portrayal of Muslims, particularly of the Arabs, has stereotyped Muslims and Arabs into certain types which further complicate their problems. They face difficulties in expressing their cultural and religious needs and adjusting in completely new and different culture. Being such students in the United States of America and having faced this problem personally, we have attempted to offer an overview of these cultural challenges faced by the Arab learners who travel to the States to pursue their higher educations. It is expected that the findings of the study may help the institutions and teachers in developing a teaching framework which would assist the Arab learners in overcoming their cultural challenges and coping with the same in the western countries like the US

The effects of subjective norm on the intention to use social media networks : an exploratory study using PLS-SEM and machine learning approach

Several research has been conducted on social media application's acceptance, but factors that impact educational purposes are completely ignored in this research. Therefore, the research has been conducted with the purpose of developing a conceptual model, which is derived from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The subjective norm of the study is to find out social media's acceptance in education by students. To find out the exact conclusion, the research follows the questionnaire survey method in which 310 questionnaires were distributed to the students of the United Arab Emirates' well-reputed university. In this questionnaire survey, two famous approaches were used to examine the collected data that is the partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and Machine Learning approach (ML). From the above-stated study, it has been observed that perceived usefulness, subjective norms, and perceived ease of use are proven to be significant measures of student's intention that motivates them to use social media networks for their educational purpose

Management of Sickle Cell Disease Pain among Adolescent and Pediatric Patients

Management of sickle cell pain in adolescent and pediatric patients is inadequate, and the employment of proper management guidelines and practices are highly variable among different regions and populations. APPT, the multidimensional adolescent pediatric pain tool, promotes optimal pain management and introduces best practical guidelines for pain management. The goal of this study is to assess pain and pain management among young patients diagnosed with sickle cell disease (SCD) by introducing the APPT as a tool for pain management, and analyze factors contributing to pain management. Information relevant to demographic data, SCD characteristics, APPT assessment, and satisfaction of patients regarding pain management were collected using a structured questionnaire. Results showed that SCD is highly associated with gender (p = 0.022), consanguinity (p = 0.012), and number of surgeries (p = 0.013). Most patients (58.9%) indicated the involvement of more than six body areas affected during pain crisis. Severe pain was described by more than half the patients (55.6%), while moderate pain was reported by 31.1%. Most patients described their pain by sensory, affective, and temporal words. The number of painful areas, pain intensity, and use of descriptive pain words was correlated and interpreted by age, BMI, school absence, and number of surgeries. Results of this study could provide guidance to healthcare providers to improve current practices for SCD pain management in order to improve health outcomes and patients’ satisfaction

Students’ experiences and attitudes toward a newly developed simulation-based pharmaceutical care clinical rotation: A pre-post study design

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students’ experience with the newly developed simulation-based pharmaceutical care (PC) rotation by evaluating their knowledge and attitudes towards PC before and after the rotation. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to sixth year PharmD students enrolled in the clinical training rotation “Comprehensive Pharmaceutical Care” during the 2020/2021 academic semesters at Jordan University of Science and Technology’s (JUST) Faculty of Pharmacy. Questionnaires were distributed before and after completing four experiential training weeks and consisted of three sections. The first section collected students’ demographic details while the second and third sections evaluated students' knowledge about, and attitudes toward PC, respectively. Descriptive statistics were used to describe and compare changes in students' knowledge and attitudes pre-and post-rotation. Results: A total of 106 valid questionnaires were completed with a response rate of 99.07%. The rates of correct answers increased after the rotation with median total knowledge score increasing from 8 to 10 (out of 13, P value < 0.001). Significant improvements in students’ understanding of aspects relating to the concept and process of PC, and the role of clinical pharmacist in PC provision, were shown post the simulation-based clinical rotation. Similarly, their attitudes toward performing PC were either improved or emphasized. In contrast results also revealed that specific aspects of the rotation require further refinement, such as the comprehensiveness of the PC process and responsibilities in providing PC. Conclusions: PharmD students’ understanding and attitudes toward PC were either improved or emphasized after the simulation-based PC rotation. This study highlights the value of simulation as a unique instructional technique that can assist educators to develop PC competencies for pharmacy students