Medical education and the epidemics: How educational technology responded.

The global disruption created by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in medical education and healthcare institutions is unparalleled. Consequently, it is essential to evaluate the usability of forms of educational technology and to identify their viability and suitability for medical education. The objective of the investigation was to present an assessment of the state of medical education during the COVID-19 epidemic and to identify the obstacles faced by educators while introducing online learning systems for medical students. Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted with 200 medical students and 75 staff members from Saudi Arabia's University of Health. A descriptive method was used to focus on the mechanisms of analysis, foresight, and comprehension of reality. The most significant findings were the obstacles posed by instructors' most urgent requirements for educational technology training and its applications in order to activate distance education in medical education. In addition to a detailed description of the academic and technological concerns and obstacles encountered by students and faculty of health colleges during the pandemic, this report includes a discussion of the pandemic itself. Several prospective recommendations for the use of online and blended learning in health colleges post-pandemic were also made. Additionally, the requirement to activate learning via virtual professional learning groups.

La perturbation mondiale créée par la pandémie de maladie à coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) dans les établissements d'enseignement médical et de soins de santé est sans précédent. Par conséquent, il est essentiel d'évaluer l'utilisabilité des formes de technologie éducative et d'identifier leur viabilité et leur adéquation à l'enseignement médical. L'objectif de l'enquête était de présenter une évaluation de l'état de l'enseignement médical pendant l'épidémie de COVID-19 et d'identifier les obstacles rencontrés par les éducateurs lors de l'introduction de systèmes d'apprentissage en ligne pour les étudiants en médecine. Deux enquêtes transversales ont été menées auprès de 200 étudiants en médecine et de 75 membres du personnel de l'Université de la Santé d'Arabie Saoudite. Une méthode descriptive a été utilisée pour se concentrer sur les mécanismes d'analyse, de prospective et de compréhension de la réalité. Les résultats les plus significatifs ont été les obstacles posés par les besoins les plus urgents des instructeurs en matière de formation en technologie éducative et ses applications afin d'activer l'enseignement à distance en médecine. éducation. En plus d'une description détaillée des préoccupations et des obstacles académiques et technologiques rencontrés par les étudiants et les professeurs des collèges de santé pendant la pandémie, ce rapport comprend une discussion sur la pandémie elle-même. Plusieurs recommandations prospectives concernant l'utilisation de l'apprentissage en ligne et mixte dans les établissements de santé après la pandémie ont également été formulées. À cela s'ajoute l'obligation d'activer l'apprentissage via des groupes d'apprentissage professionnel virtuels.

An In-Depth Examination of the Natural Radiation and Radioactive Dangers Associated with Regularly Used Medicinal Herbs.

The specific activity of U-238 and Th-232, as well as K-40 radionuclides, in twenty-nine investigated medicinal herbs used in Egypt has been measured using a high-purity germanium (HP Ge) detector. The measured values ranged from the BDL to 20.71 ± 1.52 with a mean of 7.25 ± 0.54 (Bq kg-1) for uranium-238, from the BDL to 29.35 ± 1.33 with a mean of 7.78 ± 0.633 (Bq kg-1) for thorium-232, and from 172 ± 5.85 to 1181.2 ± 25.5 with a mean of 471.4 ± 11.33 (Bq kg-1) for potassium-40. Individual herbs with the highest activity levels were found to be 20.71 ± 1.52 (Bq kg-1) for uranium-238 (H4, Thyme herb), 29.35 ± 1.33 (Bq kg-1) for thorium-232 (H20, Cinnamon), and 1181.2 ± 25.5 (Bq kg-1) for potassium-40 (H24, Worm-wood). (AACED) Ingestion-related effective doses over the course of a year of uranium-238 and thorium-232, as well as potassium-40 estimated from measured activity concentrations, are 0.002304 ± 0.00009 (minimum), 0.50869 ± 0.0002 (maximum), and 0.0373 ± 0.0004 (average)(mSv/yr). Radium equivalent activity (Raeq), annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE), absorbed gamma dose rate (Doutdoor, Dindoor), gamma representative level index (I), annual effective dose (AEDtotal), external and internal hazard index (Hex, Hin), and excess lifetime cancer risk were determined in medicinal plants (ELCR). The radiological hazards assessment revealed that the investigated plant species have natural radioactivity levels that are well within the internationally recommended limit. This is the first time that the natural radioactivity of therapeutic plants has been measured in Egypt. In addition, no artificial radionuclide (for example, 137Cs) was discovered in any of the samples. Therefore, the current findings are intended to serve as the foundation for establishing a standard safety and guideline for using these therapeutic plants in Egypt.

Removal of Uranium-238, Thorium-232, and Potassium-40 from Wastewater via Adsorption on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes.

The optimum conditions for the removal of uranium-238, thorium-232, and potassium-40 from wastewater and the discharge of nuclear facilities using multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are described. The adsorption mechanism is mainly attributed to chemical interactions between the metal ions and surface functional groups of the CNTs. Batch adsorption experiments are carried out in order to study the effect of different parameters such as pH, contact time, initial metal ion concentration, adsorbent dose, and temperatures. Maximum metal removal (>98%) from solutions containing 20-120 Bq/L metal ions is achieved using a contact time of 15 min, a pH of 6.0, and 10 mg/L CNTs. The effect of temperature on the kinetics and equilibrium of adsorption on CNT particles is examined. Consistent with an exothermic reaction, an increase in the temperature resulted in an increase in the adsorption rate. Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms are applied to the data obtained at various temperatures. The Langmuir adsorption model is the best for data interpretations. The kinetics of adsorption reveals a pseudo-second-order mechanism. Thermodynamic parameters at 293 K (ΔG°, ΔH°, and ΔS°) for U-238, Th-232, and K-40 are -14590.7 kJ/mol, -6.66 kJ/mol, and 26.47 J/(mol K), -96,96.5 kJ/mol, -2.48 kJ/mol, and 14.17 J/(mol K), and -3922.09 kJ/mol, -1.32 kJ/mol, and 6.12 J/(mol K), respectively.

Interaction between cognitive styles and genders when using virtual laboratories and its influence on students of health college's laboratory skills and cognitive load during the Corona pandemic.

This study examined the interaction between cognitive style-gender within Virtual Laboratories (VL) and its influence on students of health college's Laboratory Skills (LS) and Cognitive Load (CL) during the Corona pandemic. This research method is a combination of quasi-experimental research and survey research; consisting of two male and two female experimental groups (contemplative and impulsive). Each group had 20 students from General Health colleges. In the third level, with the microbiological course, eight experiments were studied by a Virtual laboratory (Praxilabs) during the eLearning study in 2020's first semester. Results showed that VL-using Students of General Health colleges studying microbiology had better CL and LS, besides significantly distinguishing between males and females using VLs in CL and LS where males benefited more. Also, a significant difference was established between CS (contemplative/impulsive) VL-using students in CL and LS to the benefit of the contemplative cognitive style. There LS significantly differ due to gender-CS interaction; however, CL does not have any differences because of this interaction.

Environmental assessment of radionuclides levels and some heavy metals pollution along Gulf of Suez, Egypt.

This work aims to evaluate radioactivity levels of 238U (226Ra), 232Th(228Ra), and 40K and the associated radiological hazard indices, as well as to assess the current status and concentrations of heavy metals along the coastline of the Gulf of Suez, in order to identify potential sources of contamination and to construct radioactivity baseline for this area. Measurements of the activity concentrations of 238U(226Ra), 232Th(228Ra), and 40K in Bq kg-1 of the collected samples were carried out using high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. Heavy metals in seawater, shore sediment, and algae samples were determined using ICP-OES. The average activity concentrations of 238U(226Ra), 232Th(228Ra), and 40K were found to be 13.79 ± 0.75, 14.57 ± 1.15, and 128.9 ± 4.15 Bq kg-1, respectively. The radiological hazard indices of absorbed dose rate in nGy h-1 (D), annual effective dose rate in mSv y-1, AED, radium equivalent activity in Bq (Raeq), external and internal hazard indices (Hex, Hin), and cancer risk factor were calculated and compared with the worldwide averages. The distribution patterns of annual effective dose (AED) at the Suez Gulf showed that the south east of the Gulf is characterized by higher AED. Water quality parameters (water temperature, salinity, pH, DO, and Eh) reveal that Suez Gulf was undoubtedly affected by the rate of the human activities. Heavy metal concentrations in shore sediments showed some variation within the study area and followed the following order: Fe > Mn > Zn > Al > B > Co > Ni > Pb > V > Cr > Mo > Cu > Cd. Furthermore, heavy metal concentrations indicated that northern part of the Gulf contains the highest levels of these metals compared to the southern one.