The Potential Of Metaverse Technology In E-Learning: Case Of Engineering Students

Metaverse technology integrates virtual and augmented reality, has significantly impacted many industries, and opened up new opportunities for educators and 1 Corresponding Author R Badaoui [email protected] learners alike. This article focuses on its potential to transform e-learning, especially in engineering education, and highlights the importance of understanding engineering students\u27 attitudes toward adopting new technologies. This study sheds light on the potential of e-learning in general, and the metaverse in specific, to engage and motivate students. We conducted a quantitative online survey (n=120) to collect data from engineering students. The analysis of collected data explores and evaluates the students\u27 awareness and acceptance of the metaverse in e-learning. Our results demonstrate that engineering students have a good awareness, a positive attitude, and motivation towards using new technologies and highlight a good opportunity for the metaverse to enhance engineering students’ online interactions and participation compared with traditional e-learning methods

Variability Of The Moisture Sensitivity Of Field HMA Mixes

The objective of this study is to evaluate the variability in moisture sensitivity of lime treated HMA mixes that were sampled during construction from three projects located in the Truckee Meadows region

Anterior Cervical Infection: Presentation and Incidence of an Uncommon Postoperative Complication.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective multi-institutional case series. OBJECTIVE: The anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) affords the surgeon the flexibility to treat a variety of cervical pathologies, with the majority being for degenerative and traumatic indications. Limited data in the literature describe the presentation and true incidence of postoperative surgical site infections. METHODS: A retrospective multicenter case series study was conducted involving 21 high-volume surgical centers from the AOSpine North America Clinical Research Network, selected for their excellence in spine care and clinical research infrastructure and experience. Medical records for 17 625 patients who received cervical spine surgery (levels from C2 to C7) between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2011, inclusive, were reviewed to identify the occurrence of 21 predefined treatment complications. Patients who underwent an ACDF were identified in the database and reviewed for the occurrence of postoperative anterior cervical infections. RESULTS: A total of 8887 patients were identified from a retrospective database analysis of 21 centers providing data for postoperative anterior cervical infections (17/21, 81% response rate). A total of 6 postoperative infections after ACDF were identified for a mean rate of 0.07% (range 0% to 0.39%). The mean age of patients identified was 57.5 (SD = 11.6, 66.7% female). The mean body mass index was 22.02. Of the total infections, half were smokers (n = 3). Two patients presented with myelopathy, and 3 patients presented with radiculopathic-type complaints. The mean length of stay was 4.7 days. All patients were treated aggressively with surgery for management of this complication, with improvement in all patients. There were no mortalities. CONCLUSION: The incidence of postoperative infection in ACDF is exceedingly low. The management has historically been urgent irrigation and debridement of the surgical site. However, due to the rarity of this occurrence, guidance for management is limited to retrospective series

Misplaced Cervical Screws Requiring Reoperation.

STUDY DESIGN: A multicenter, retrospective case series. OBJECTIVE: In the past several years, screw fixation of the cervical spine has become commonplace. For the most part, this is a safe, low-risk procedure. While rare, screw backout or misplaced screws can lead to morbidity and increased costs. We report our experiences with this uncommon complication. METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective case series was undertaken at 23 institutions in the United States. Patients were included who underwent cervical spine surgery from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2011, and had misplacement of screws requiring reoperation. Institutional review board approval was obtained at all participating institutions, and detailed records were sent to a central data center. RESULTS: A total of 12 903 patients met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. There were 11 instances of screw backout requiring reoperation, for an incidence of 0.085%. There were 7 posterior procedures. Importantly, there were no changes in the health-related quality-of-life metrics due to this complication. There were no new neurologic deficits; a patient most often presented with pain, and misplacement was diagnosed on plain X-ray or computed tomography scan. The most common location for screw backout was C6 (36%). CONCLUSIONS: This study represents the largest series to tabulate the incidence of misplacement of screws following cervical spine surgery, which led to revision procedures. The data suggest this is a rare event, despite the widespread use of cervical fixation. Patients suffering this complication can require revision, but do not usually suffer neurologic sequelae. These patients have increased cost of care. Meticulous technique and thorough knowledge of the relevant anatomy are the best means of preventing this complication

Atezolizumab-induced encephalitis in a patient with metastatic breast cancer: a case report and review of neurological adverse events associated with checkpoint inhibitors

Immune-mediated encephalitis as an adverse event due to checkpoint inhibitors is very rare. We describe herein the case of a 38-year-old woman with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer who developed seizures and somnolence twelve days after receiving the first dose of Atezolizumab. Work up ruled out all infectious etiologies, and the patient was eventually diagnosed with immune-mediated meningoencephalitis. Symptoms recovered with a high-dose of steroids, and she was found to have an excellent response on follow-up imaging, which raised the question of whether a relationship exists between the occurrence, and severity of the adverse event and the response to treatment. Only a few other cases of atezolizumab–related encephalitis have been published. Early recognition and treatment are crucial; the reason why we are describing this case along with a review of the literature and a review on all the neurological immune-related adverse events due to the different checkpoint inhibitors

Evaluation of Cement-Modified Soil (CMS) with Microcracking and Its Effects on Flexible Pavement Performance

Cement modification of subgrade has been widely practiced for the past few decades. Recently, cement has become a more economical binder to modify in-situ subgrade soil since other binders, such as fly ash, have become less available and therefore their prices have increased significantly. In addition, a much higher percentage of fly ash needs be used, when compared with cement to achieve the same subgrade strength and stiffness. In general, cement-modified subgrade is prone to develop shrinkage cracking, which can eventually reflect through asphalt pavement layers to the surface after construction. For some subgrade soils, a high cement content is needed to meet the unconfined compressive strength requirement without jeopardizing durability. A higher cement content will result in higher shrinkage cracking potential. To overcome this problem, a microcracking technology has been developed and adopted in the field. This technology involves re-compaction of cement-modified soil (CMS) with a roller, 24 to 48 hours after initial compaction, to induce microcracks in the CMS and minimize the potential for large shrinkage cracks. Microcracking of CMS is not expected to significantly reduce the strength and stiffness of CMS, but it is expected to increase its hydraulic conductivity and reduce the potential for large shrinkage cracks. Unfortunately, the procedure to simulate microcracking of CMS in the laboratory and to evaluate its effect on properties of CMS has not been established yet. This dissertation documents the development of such a procedure and discusses the effect of microcracking on the properties (strength and modulus) of CMS specimens. The developed procedure utilized unconfined compression (UC) tests to generate micro-cracks in specimens. To generate micro-cracks, the loading stress level was found to be equal to the unconfined compressive strength of the CMS specimen. The laboratory results showed that microcracking increased the hydraulic conductivity of the specimen and reduced its electrical resistivity when the specimen was saturated. To evaluate the effects of microcracking on the field performance of CMS, field and laboratory tests, including Electrical Resistivity (ER) tests, Light Weight Deflectometer (LWD) tests, Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) tests, and Resilient Modulus (Mr) tests, were conducted on the CMS at two different locations in the State of Kansas, USA. The ER results from the field did not show a clear correlation between the ER value and the microcracking process because the ER results fluctuated within the device accuracy range. The (LWD) tests conducted in the field showed that adding cement increased the subgrade modulus. However, after applying three passes of roller compaction to generate the microcracks in the CMS in the field, the subgrade modulus dropped to approximately 40% of its original value on average. The back-calculation analyses of the FWD test data from both sites showed that the actual resilient moduli of the microcracked CMS layers in the field were significantly higher than the laboratory resilient moduli of the microcracked and uncracked reconstituted specimens. Also, the laboratory resilient moduli of four cored specimens from one of the sites were approximately 25 to 50 percent higher than those of reconstituted specimens from the same site. However, the laboratory resilient modulus test results showed that the microcracked specimens reconstituted from the soils obtained from the field had slightly higher Mr values than the uncracked specimens. In addition, the performance of an asphalt concrete pavement over the CMS with microcracking was evaluated based on a mechanistic empirical approch. The KENLAYER Computer Program was used to predict the pavement responses under traffic loading. The hot mix asphalt (HMA) and the subgrade were modeled as linearly elastic materials and their stiffness values used in KENLAYER were backcalculated from FWD testing using the ELMOD V.6 software. However, the CMS was either modeled as a non-linearly elastic material with its properties determined from the laboratory resilient modulus tests or as linearly elastic material with the properties backcalculated from the FWD tests. Furthermore, the typical pavement structural distresses, such as permanent deformation (rutting) and fatigue cracking, and the remaining service life were evaluated for the actual pavement thicknesses used in the field

THE IMPACT OF TRUST AND REWARDS ON ONLINE PURCHASING INTENTION: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF ATTITUDES

This study explores the relationship between trust, rewards, attitudes, and online purchasing intention, with attitudes serving as the mediator variable in the Lebanese context. Using a sample of 400 respondents, a structural equation model (SEM) was employed to test the hypotheses. The results showed a positive and significant relationship between trust and attitudes, as well as between rewards and attitudes. Additionally, attitudes were found to mediate the relationship between both trust and rewards on online purchasing intention. These findings highlight the importance of building trust and offering rewards to enhance consumers\u27 attitudes towards online shopping, which ultimately leads to higher purchasing intention in the Lebanese context

Parental experience of potential adverse drug reactions related to their oral administration of antipyretic analgesics in children in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Oral antipyretic analgesic medicines are commonly used in children and have the potential for adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Objective: The aim of this study was to explore parental experiences of potential ADRs related to their oral administration of antipyretic analgesics in children in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: For this cross-sectional survey, a paper-based questionnaire, consent form and information sheet were handed out to 1000 parents who had administered an oral antipyretic analgesic medicine to their children during the previous 3 months. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 (IBM-SPSS Inc, Armonk, NY). Simple descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Management and ethical approvals were attained. Results: During March to April 2017, 661 parents agreed to participate, giving a response rate of 66.1%. Of the surveyed sample, 208 parents had observed 1 or more potential ADRs (31.5%, n = 208 out of 661). Parents’ (n = 208) most commonly reported potential ADRs (n = 523) were loss of appetite (23%, n = 120 out of 523), stomachache (20.3%, n = 106 out of 523), abdominal colic (13%, n = 68 out of 523), and diarrhea (10.3%, n = 54 out of 523). Parents described severity of the ADRs as slight (71.8%, n = 342 out of 476), annoying to the child (7.9%, n = 85 to of 476), significant and affecting daily tasks (3.6%, n = 17 out of 476) and significant and led to the hospital (6.7%, n = 32 out of 476). Fever was the top-ranked reason for using antipyretic analgesic medicines (41.0%, n = 271 out of 661), followed by toothache (25.0%, n = 165 out of 661) and tonsillitis/laryngitis (24.7%, n = 163 out of 661). Among parents, 34.7% (n = 165 out of 476) did not seek medical attention when a potential ADR occurred, whereas 26.3% (n = 125 out of 476) of parents took their children to hospital clinics. Conclusions: Although the majority of parentally reported (but not proven) ADRs were mild, a number of significant ADRs were reported. Future research should consider whether there is a role for physicians and pharmacists in educating parents in Saudi Arabia, and perhaps more widely, about the optimal use of oral antipyretic and analgesic medicines in children. (Curr Ther Res Clin Exp. 2020; 81:XXX–XXX) © 2020 Elsevier HS Journals, Inc

C5 Palsy After Cervical Spine Surgery: A Multicenter Retrospective Review of 59 Cases.

STUDY DESIGN: A multicenter, retrospective review of C5 palsy after cervical spine surgery. OBJECTIVE: Postoperative C5 palsy is a known complication of cervical decompressive spinal surgery. The goal of this study was to review the incidence, patient characteristics, and outcome of C5 palsy in patients undergoing cervical spine surgery. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, retrospective review of 13 946 patients across 21 centers who received cervical spine surgery (levels C2 to C7) between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2011, inclusive. P values were calculated using 2-sample t test for continuous variables and χ(2) tests or Fisher exact tests for categorical variables. RESULTS: Of the 13 946 cases reviewed, 59 patients experienced a postoperative C5 palsy. The incidence rate across the 21 sites ranged from 0% to 2.5%. At most recent follow-up, 32 patients reported complete resolution of symptoms (54.2%), 15 had symptoms resolve with residual effects (25.4%), 10 patients did not recover (17.0%), and 2 were lost to follow-up (3.4%). CONCLUSION: C5 palsy occurred in all surgical approaches and across a variety of diagnoses. The majority of patients had full recovery or recovery with residual effects. This study represents the largest series of North American patients reviewed to date