Using a virtual learning environment to increase the use of information and communication technology by university teachers at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia

This thesis is primarily instigated and directed by the researcher’s previous small-scale studies. These revealed Saudi teachers’ low usage and negative perceptions about technology in teaching in schools and higher educational institutions. For further our understanding, this study investigates the use of technology by a Saudi university’s teachers in their instruction and attempts to explore the viability of training within a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for their professional development. The study engages a mixed-method approach where a VLE training programme is facilitated among 40 teachers of Jazan University. It observes changes in their perceptions about technology and the level of use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in teaching. Interviews and questionnaires are used to collect data in two phases, before and after the VLE training, on their use of a range of ICT tools. The research data shows a significant improvement in the teachers’ usage of a number of ICT teaching tools after they received VLE training. Additionally, it points to positive change in the attitudes, knowledge and skills of these teachers and promises an active role in the teachers’ professional development for these aspects . Moreover, a number of influential factors that may affect the attitude, knowledge and skills relating to the use of technology are identified, necessitating a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) scheme. By analysing the research findings it is recognised that a CPD scheme delivered via a VLE can positively change university teachers’ knowledge, attitude, and skills about technology, and consequently increase the use of ICT tools in teaching and learning. However, the study also reveals a number of difficulties and concerns among the teachers regarding VLEs and CPD, and provides recommendations to overcome these. Additionally, the research proposes some directions on possible future studies based on this research work

The Use of Laboratory Tests in Diagnosing Lesions of The Mouth and Jaws

Background: Determining odontogenic cysts and tumors necessitates an early diagnosis to avert surgeries involving extensive elimination of infected tissues. This study assesses the accuracy of the YOLO v2 deep learning network in contrast to conventional methods to detect dental caries in panoramic radiographs. Methods: Research was done using 1602 lesions in periapical radiographs taken at Yonsei University Dental Hospital between the years 2010 and 2019. The study divided the participants into those with dentigerous cysts, odontogenic keratocysts, ameloblastoma, and the control group without any lesion. This paper aims to assess the diagnostic performance of YOLO v against that of oral and maxillofacial surgeons and general practitioners by using measures like precision, recall, accuracy, and the F1 score that will be used for objective evaluation.   Results: YOLO showed the highest metric accuracy among the three teams, with particularity percentage and amount of recall being 0.707 and 0.680, respectively. Although the results of the YOLO models did not vary much from clinical performance, none of these differences were statistically observed. Discussion: The results of this study may point towards the possibility of the YOLO version becoming successful in the detection of jaw cysts and tumors in panoramic radiography tests. It is as competent as a human clinician in this case, which makes a potential introduction either an aid to screen patients early and curb those unnecessary morbidities in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Conclusions: The study stresses the benefits that auto-detecting machine learning algorithms like YOLO offer in medical process automation and AI in dentistry. The good performance of YOLO in hunting for lesions and creating pictures on panoramic radiographs shows its ability to facilitate diagnosis and thus influence positive patient outcomes

An Overview Of Status Post Splenectomy, Role Of Nursing, Paramedics, Psychologist And Clinical Laboratory Teams

People who have had their spleen removed through elective or non-elective splenectomy are at a significant risk of developing serious infections. Overwhelming postsplenectomy infection (OPSI) is a series of events characterized by a fast advance from infection to severe sepsis. Postsplenectomy infection is a critical medical situation that requires immediate attention. It is highly advisable to promptly administer antibiotics upon the initial indication of infection. Typically, in adults, the progression of the disease takes many days but can accelerate within a few hours from the first indication of fever to the development of widespread pneumonia, widespread blood clotting, bleeding and tissue death in the adrenal glands, and tissue death in the kidney tubules. The paramedics play a vital role in evaluating patients with critical conditions before they reach the hospital and implementing effective measures. Similarly, the nursing and clinical laboratory staff have a crucial role in properly managing these cases. Lastly, psychologists play an important role in providing support to patients and their families after a spleenectomy

ISARIC-COVID-19 dataset: A Prospective, Standardized, Global Dataset of Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19

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Neurological manifestations of COVID-19 in adults and children

Different neurological manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adults and children and their impact have not been well characterized. We aimed to determine the prevalence of neurological manifestations and in-hospital complications among hospitalized COVID-19 patients and ascertain differences between adults and children. We conducted a prospective multicentre observational study using the International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) cohort across 1507 sites worldwide from 30 January 2020 to 25 May 2021. Analyses of neurological manifestations and neurological complications considered unadjusted prevalence estimates for predefined patient subgroups, and adjusted estimates as a function of patient age and time of hospitalization using generalized linear models. Overall, 161 239 patients (158 267 adults; 2972 children) hospitalized with COVID-19 and assessed for neurological manifestations and complications were included. In adults and children, the most frequent neurological manifestations at admission were fatigue (adults: 37.4%; children: 20.4%), altered consciousness (20.9%; 6.8%), myalgia (16.9%; 7.6%), dysgeusia (7.4%; 1.9%), anosmia (6.0%; 2.2%) and seizure (1.1%; 5.2%). In adults, the most frequent in-hospital neurological complications were stroke (1.5%), seizure (1%) and CNS infection (0.2%). Each occurred more frequently in intensive care unit (ICU) than in non-ICU patients. In children, seizure was the only neurological complication to occur more frequently in ICU versus non-ICU (7.1% versus 2.3%, P < 0.001). Stroke prevalence increased with increasing age, while CNS infection and seizure steadily decreased with age. There was a dramatic decrease in stroke over time during the pandemic. Hypertension, chronic neurological disease and the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were associated with increased risk of stroke. Altered consciousness was associated with CNS infection, seizure and stroke. All in-hospital neurological complications were associated with increased odds of death. The likelihood of death rose with increasing age, especially after 25 years of age. In conclusion, adults and children have different neurological manifestations and in-hospital complications associated with COVID-19. Stroke risk increased with increasing age, while CNS infection and seizure risk decreased with age

The role of virtual learning environment in improving information and communication technology adoption in teaching

The adoption of ICT-enabled teaching in contemporary schools has largely ragged behind despite its obvious and many benefits, mainly because teachers still hold ignorant, misinformed and highly negative attitudes towards ICT-enabled teaching. This article aimed at investigating the effect of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) on university teachers’ attitudes towards using ICT in their teaching, and to further develop a best-practice model for use by stakeholders currently interested in promoting the use of ICT in education. VLE experience can positively shape teachers’ attitudes towards using ICT, which would in turn increase the adoption of ICT-aided teaching in contemporary schools. The article argues that when university teachers participate regularly in VLEs, their attitudes towards the use of ICT improves. It is thus recommended that learning institutions and universities should invest in creating productive, regular and readily accessible VLEs for their teaching staff, as an important support incentive to any ICT program deploymen

Enhancing university teachers’ information and communication technology usage by using a virtual learning

One would expect that university teachers in universities would have adopted the use of information and communication technology (ICT). However, a good percentage of them are yet to adopt it. This research seeks to determine the use of ICT in Jazan University in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) by university teachers, by implementing a virtual learning environment (VLE) course in a continuing professional development (CPD) Research seek to measure the effect of the VLE to improve ICT usage in a CPD

The ICT proficiencies of university teachers in Saudi Arabia: a case study to identify challenges and encouragements

Nowadays the use of information communications technology (ICT) is prevalent in higher education across all countries. This study focuses on the level of use of ICT among teachers at a leading university in Saudi Arabia. 16 indepth interviews reveal that the majority of teachers do not make use of ICT in their teaching. A number of attitudeswere identified ranging from the idea that ICT would hinder the teaching process to an unwillingness to changelong-standing teaching methods. However, the results also reveal that many teachers want to use more ICT in theirteaching. Thus, there is preparedness to receive training programmes that focus on ICT. The results are encouragingas well as identifying specific challenges