Issues in Physics Practicals in an Open and Distance Learning Environment

This paper reviews the objectives of physics practicals in physics education in relation to the hilosophy of open and distance learning programme. The various issues that arise in the implementation of physics experiment based on an existing practical model are presented. Two major concerns are the effectiveness of the practical sessions and sustaining the fundamentals of the open and distance learning programme. A new practical physics model is then proposed, which enables students to experience physics experiments without violating the open and distance learning programme fundamentals. (Authors' abstract

Does the Number of Hours Spent on Learning Affect Academic Achievement?

Examinations are measurement tools designed to assess learners’ achievement of course learning outcomes. Past studies have shown that factors such as motivation and study time play a part in enhancing learner achievement in assessment. The objective of this exploratory study is to develop a Regression Model that will be used to identify the possible relationship between the learners’ study time with their academic achievement. An online questionnaire survey was administered to 98 respondents of year 1 distance learners of the Principle of Management course in the January 2021 semester at Open University Malaysia. The data on the self-report of study time by the learners for the two variables were analysed. A regression analysis via Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) analysis tool was performed to study the relationship between the study time (for completing the assignment and preparing for the final examination) and academic achievement. The findings of this study suggest that a regression model can significantly predict academic achievement. However, based on this model, only the study time allocated for completing the assignment appears to be significantly correlated to the course assessment achievement. It is hoped that the findings gathered will lay the foundation for future research that take into consideration other relevant factors associated with study time and academic achievement

Mucosal microbiome is predictive of pediatric Crohn’s disease across geographic regions in North America [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: Patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) have an altered intestinal microbiome, which may facilitate novel diagnostic testing. However, accuracy of microbiome classification models across geographic regions may be limited. Therefore, we sought to examine geographic variation in the microbiome of patients with CD from North America and test the performance of a machine learning classification model across geographic regions. Methods: The RISK cohort included 447 pediatric patients with CD and 221 non-inflammatory bowel disease controls from across North America. Terminal ileum, rectal and fecal samples were obtained prior to treatment for microbiome analysis. We divided study sites into 3 geographic regions to examine regional microbiome differences. We trained and tested the performance of a machine learning classification model across these regions. Results: No differences were seen in the mucosal microbiome of patients with CD across regions or in either the fecal or mucosal microbiomes of controls. Machine learning classification algorithms for patients with CD performed well across regions (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUROC] range of 0.85-0.91) with the best results from terminal ileum. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the feasibility of microbiome based diagnostic testing in pediatric patients with CD within North America, independently from regional influences

Controversies over Infective Endocarditis Prophylaxis and the need for National Guidelines

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a relatively rare but invariably fatal disease if left untreated. Over decades, individuals with certain congenital or acquired heart defects were given antibiotic prophylaxis before certain procedures to prevent IE. However, controversies on this regimen have begun to grow since 2002 and in 2007-2008, three major international health organizations, the American Heart Association (AHA), the European Society for Cardiology (ESC), and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), UK published have their revised guidelines where AHA and ESC markedly shortened the list of indications for IE prophylaxis and NICE abandoned the concept of IE prophylaxis altogether. This has literally divided not only the medical practitioners around the world but practitioners within countries who used to follow either AHA, ESC or NHS guidelines in absence of their own national guidelines. This chaotic situation has also affected the medical teaching in those countries because of contradictory teaching from teachers having different views and belongingness on this issue. Even follow up review five years after the introduction of revised guidelines has failed to resolve the controversies and it deems un resolvable in near future. In such circumstances, every country needs to have own guideline for uniform medical teaching and practice

Effect of surgical experience and spine subspecialty on the reliability of the {AO} Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System

OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper was to determine the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility of the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System based on surgeon experience (< 5 years, 5–10 years, 10–20 years, and > 20 years) and surgical subspecialty (orthopedic spine surgery, neurosurgery, and "other" surgery). METHODS A total of 11,601 assessments of upper cervical spine injuries were evaluated based on the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System. Reliability and reproducibility scores were obtained twice, with a 3-week time interval. Descriptive statistics were utilized to examine the percentage of accurately classified injuries, and Pearson’s chi-square or Fisher’s exact test was used to screen for potentially relevant differences between study participants. Kappa coefficients (κ) determined the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility. RESULTS The intraobserver reproducibility was substantial for surgeon experience level (< 5 years: 0.74 vs 5–10 years: 0.69 vs 10–20 years: 0.69 vs > 20 years: 0.70) and surgical subspecialty (orthopedic spine: 0.71 vs neurosurgery: 0.69 vs other: 0.68). Furthermore, the interobserver reliability was substantial for all surgical experience groups on assessment 1 (< 5 years: 0.67 vs 5–10 years: 0.62 vs 10–20 years: 0.61 vs > 20 years: 0.62), and only surgeons with > 20 years of experience did not have substantial reliability on assessment 2 (< 5 years: 0.62 vs 5–10 years: 0.61 vs 10–20 years: 0.61 vs > 20 years: 0.59). Orthopedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons had substantial intraobserver reproducibility on both assessment 1 (0.64 vs 0.63) and assessment 2 (0.62 vs 0.63), while other surgeons had moderate reliability on assessment 1 (0.43) and fair reliability on assessment 2 (0.36). CONCLUSIONS The international reliability and reproducibility scores for the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System demonstrated substantial intraobserver reproducibility and interobserver reliability regardless of surgical experience and spine subspecialty. These results support the global application of this classification system

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries