scholarly journals Reduced failure rates associated with playing a new online game developed to support learning of core content in human systems physiology

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 769-778
Author(s):  
Sharon M. Herkes ◽  
Clare Gordon-Thomson ◽  
Isabel A. Arnaiz ◽  
Meloni M. Muir ◽  
Dewa Wardak ◽  
...  

A digital mobile card-matching game called eFlip was developed to assist second-year undergraduate medical science students to learn core content and understand key associations in physiology. Our team developed customized content of core physiological associations, of increasing difficulty, for upload on a generic card-matching platform. The generic game was extended with add-ons coded to allow identification and access of student usage data for students who consented to have their game usage linked to academic performance such as final course marks and grades. Here, we describe the development of the eFlip game content, the student usage profile, and the game’s impact on learning. Students were invited to use eFlip prior to and during the final examination period. Of those who used eFlip, 152 students consented to participate in a study of game use on learning performance outcomes. Within the students who consented, 74 played the game and 78 did not play the game (nonplayers). The mean course mark of the students who played the game [69.57%; 95% confidence level (CI) (67.22, 71.92)] was higher than that of the nonplayers [65.33%; 95% CI (62.67, 67.99)] ( P = 0.02). Playing eFlip was also associated with reduced failure rates in students who played the game (1% failure rate) compared with the students who did not play the game (10% failure rate; P = 0.02). The number of games played by students peaked just prior to the course final examination. Overall, students who chose to play eFlip demonstrated improved grades that were associated with a higher probability of passing the physiology course.

Author(s):  
Hide Murayama ◽  
Makoto Yamazaki ◽  
Shigeru Nakajima

Abstract Power bipolar devices with gold metallization experience high failure rates. The failures are characterized as shorts, detected during LSI testing at burn-in. Many of these shorted locations are the same for the failed devices. From a statistical lot analysis, it is found that the short failure rate is higher for devices with thinner interlayer dielectric films. Based upon these results, a new electromigration and electrochemical reaction mixed failure mechanism is proposed for the failure.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 2098-2104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Chahla ◽  
Chase S. Dean ◽  
Lauren M. Matheny ◽  
Justin J. Mitchell ◽  
Mark E. Cinque ◽  
...  

Background: Limited evidence exists for meniscal repair outcomes in a multiligament reconstruction setting. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to assess outcomes and failure rates of meniscal repair in patients who underwent multiligament reconstruction compared with patients who underwent multiligament reconstruction but lacked meniscal tears. The authors hypothesized that the outcomes of meniscal repair associated with concomitant multiligament reconstruction would significantly improve from preoperatively to postoperatively at a minimum of 2 years after the index surgery. Secondarily, they hypothesized that this cohort would demonstrate similar outcomes and failure rates compared with the cohort that did not have meniscal lesions at the time of multiligament reconstruction. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Inclusion criteria for the study included radiographically confirmed skeletally mature patients of at least 16 years of age who underwent multiligamentous reconstruction of the knee without previous ipsilateral osteotomy, intra-articular infections, or intra-articular fractures. Patients were included in the experimental group if they underwent inside-out meniscal suture repair with concurrent multiligament reconstruction. Those included in the control group (multiligament reconstruction without a meniscal tear) underwent multiligament reconstruction but did not undergo any type of meniscal surgery. Lysholm, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, Short Form–12 physical component summary and mental component summary, Tegner activity scale, and patient satisfaction scores were recorded preoperatively and postoperatively. The failure of meniscal repair was defined as a retear of the meniscus that was confirmed arthroscopically. Results: There were 43 patients (16 female, 27 male) in the meniscal repair group and 62 patients (25 female, 37 male) in the control group. Follow-up was obtained in 93% of patients with a mean of 3.0 years (range, 2.0-4.7 years). There was a significant improvement between all preoperative and postoperative outcome scores ( P < .05) for both groups. The meniscal repair group had significantly lower preoperative Lysholm and Tegner scores ( P = .009 and P = .02, respectively). There were no significant differences between any other outcome scores preoperatively. The failure rate of the meniscal repair group was 2.7%, consisting of 1 symptomatic meniscal retear. There was no significant difference in any postoperative outcome score at a minimum 2-year follow-up between the 2 groups. Conclusion: Good to excellent patient-reported outcomes were reported for both groups with no significant differences in outcomes between the cohorts. Additionally, the failure rate for inside-out meniscal repair with concomitant multiligament reconstruction was low, regardless of meniscus laterality and tear characteristics. The use of multiple vertical mattress sutures and the biological augmentation resulting from intra-articular cruciate ligament reconstruction tunnel reaming may be partially responsible for the stability of the meniscal repair construct and thereby contribute to the overall improved outcomes and the low failure rate of meniscal repair, despite lower preoperative Lysholm and Tegner scores in the meniscal repair group.


2008 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 922-925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos S. Koupis ◽  
Theodore Eliades ◽  
Athanasios E. Athanasiou

Abstract Objective: To comparatively assess clinical failure rate of brackets cured with two different photopolymerization sources after nine months of orthodontic treatment. Materials and Methods: The sample of this study comprised 30 patients who received comprehensive orthodontic treatment by means of fixed appliances. Using the same adhesive, 600 stainless steel brackets were directly bonded and light cured for 10 seconds with the light-emitting diode (LED) lamp or for 20 seconds with the conventional halogen lamp. A split-mouth design randomly alternated from patient to patient was applied. Failure rates were recorded for nine months and analyzed with Pearson χ2 test, and log-rank test at α = .05 level of significance. Results: The overall failure rate recorded with the halogen unit (3.33%) was not significantly different from the failure rate for the LED lamp (5.00%). Significantly more failures were found in boys compared with girls, in the mandibular dental arch compared with the maxillary arch, and in posterior segments compared with anterior segments. However, no significant difference was found between the right and left segments. Conclusion: Both light-curing units showed sufficiently low bond failure rates. LED curing units are an advantageous alternative to conventional halogen sources in orthodontics because they enable a reduced chair-time bonding procedure without significantly affecting bond failure rate.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-34
Author(s):  
Li-ching Chang ◽  
I-ming Tsai

The present study compared early dental implant failure rates between patients with and without orthodontic treatment before dental implantation. The data of adults who had undergone dental implantation between January 2007 and December 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. A total of 124 subjects with 255 implants were divided into a treatment group (46 subjects, 85 teeth) consisting of patients who had undergone implant surgery after orthodontic treatment and a control group of patients who had not undergone preimplant orthodontic treatment. Implants that failed before permanent crown fabrication were defined as failures. No significant differences in gender or age were found between the treatment group and controls. No significant differences were found in implant failure rates in either jaw between the treatment and control groups. However, the failure rate was still higher in the treatment group (14.81%) than in the control group (3.28%) for the maxilla. Results of this study demonstrate an increased implant failure rate only in the maxilla of patients who underwent orthodontic treatment before dental implantation, especially implant surgery combined with a sinus lift procedure. Further study with a larger sample size and longer follow-up period is necessary to confirm results of the present study and identify other confounding factors.


2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darby Cassidy ◽  
Keith Jarvi ◽  
Ethan Grober ◽  
Kirk Lo

Introduction: Varicocele remains the most commonly identifiedcorrectable cause of male factor infertility. Surgical correction isthe most commonly performed technique to treat varicoceles with a technical failure rate of less than 5%. An attractive alternative to surgery is the selective catheterization and embolization of the gonadal vein. This data are limited by small series.Methods: We reviewed a total of 158 patients. These patientsunderwent embolization for clinical varicoceles and male factorinfertility between 2004 and 2008. Of these, 56% underwentattempted bilateral embolization, 43% unilateral left-sided embolization and 1.3% unilateral right-sided embolization.Results: Of these patients who underwent attempted bilateralembolization, 19.3% did not experience a successful obliterationof the right gonadal vein and 2.3% (2/88) experienced a failure rate in the embolization of the left gonadal vein. Of the 2 attempts at unilateral right-sided embolization, there were no failures. Of the 68 unilateral left-sided embolization attempts, there was a 4.4% failure rate. Of all of the right-sided embolization attempts, 18.9% failed, while 3.2% of the left-sided attempts failed.Conclusion: This review represents the largest contemporary series of varicocele embolization outcomes currently in the literature. Our 19.3% technical failure rate for bilateral varicocele embolization is higher than the current published rate of 13% and is largely related to failure to successfully occlude the right gonadal vein. This supports our belief that bilateral varicoceles are best managed with a primary microsurgical approach, where technical failure rates are expected to be less than 5% based on published data. Men withunilateral left-sided varicoceles should be offered both options as they have similar failure rates, but with embolization offering some clear advantages to the patient.


2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (9) ◽  
pp. 1039-1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.J. Wierichs ◽  
E.J. Kramer ◽  
H. Meyer-Lueckel

The aim of this retrospective noninterventional multicenter practice-based study was to analyze factors influencing the survival of direct restorations. Records from patients who visited 5 private practices regularly were searched for the presence of direct restorations. Data were recorded from 7,858 patients with 27,407 direct restorations being detected at least 6 mo before the last recall visit. Multilevel Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association between clinical factors and time until failure. Within 228 mo, 5,493 failures could be observed. Median survival time was 207 mo. The annual failure rates were 3.8%, 4.0%, 4.6%, 4.9%, and 3.9% for class I, II, III, IV, and V restorations, respectively. Class II and IV restorations showed a 1.1-times (95% CI, 1.0 to 1.2) and 1.2-times (95% CI, 1.1 to 1.2) higher failure rate than class I restorations ( P ≤ 0.029). Patients aged <20 y and >60 y showed up to a 1.4-times higher failure rate than patients aged 20 to 60 y ( P ≤ 0.015). Restorations that underwent check-up twice a year or more showed a significantly higher failure rate than those that did so less than twice a year ( P < 0.001). Furthermore, the dentists significantly influenced time until failure ( P < 0.001). Regarding the restorative material, composites showed up to a 2.1-times longer time until failure than GIC ( P ≤ 0.020). Moderate failure rates were observed for direct restorations in the private practice setting after up to 18.5 y. Within the limitations of the present study, several factors on the levels of practice (i.e., dentist), patient (i.e., age), and tooth (i.e., restorative material, restored surfaces according to the classification of Black) were significant predictors for the failure rate. Therefore, treatment decision should take into account most relevant factors (German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00015228).


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S682-S683
Author(s):  
Holly M Frost ◽  
Samuel Dominguez ◽  
Sarah Parker ◽  
Andrew Byars ◽  
Sara Michelson ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Acute otitis media(AOM) is the most common indication for antibiotics in children. The primary pathogens that cause AOM have changed since the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine(PCV). The clinical failure rate of amoxicillin for treatment of AOM post-PCV is unknown.We aimed to determine the clinical failure rate of amoxicillin for the treatment of uncomplicated AOM in children. Organisms identified on culture and amoxicillin treatment failure from nasopharyngeal specimens of children age 6-35 months with uncomplicated acute otitis media at Denver Health, Denver, CO from April 2019-March 2020. Methods Children age 6-35 months seen at Denver Health, Denver, CO with uncomplicated AOM and prescribed amoxicillin were prospectively enrolled. An interim analysis of patients enrolled from April 2019-March 2020 was completed. Patients completed surveys that included the AOM-SOS©(UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA) at enrollment, days 5, 14, and 30 and had chart abstraction completed. Treatment failure was defined as: (1) requiring a new antibiotic within 14 days; (2) AOM-SOS© score on day 5 or 14 not improved by a relative reduction of ≥ 55% from baseline. Recurrence was defined as requiring a new antibiotic within 15-30 days. Nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained and bacterial culture was completed. Results In total,110 patients were enrolled. Rates of treatment failure defined by AOM-SOS© were 28.4%(37; 95%CI:25.5-33.6%) at 5 days and 15.5%(27; 95%CI:17.5-24.5%) at 14 days. However, only 4.5%(5; 95%CI:2.0-4.5%) required a new antibiotic. Recurrence occurred in 5.5% (6, 95%CI:2.5-5.5%) of patients. Of patients who had not received antibiotics before enrollment(82), culture yielded no organism in 17.0%, one organism in 42.7%, and multiple organisms in 40.0% (Table). M.catarrhalis was the most frequently identified organism (53.7% of children). Of H.influenzae isolates 52.9% (9/17) produced beta-lactamase, resulting in no treatment failures or recurrences requiring a new antibiotic. Failure rates were similar between organisms. Conclusion Despite the change in otopathogen prevalence post-PCV, preliminary data suggest that while early subjective treatment failure was common, the 14 day treatment failure and 30 day recurrence rates was low when measured by need for a new antibiotic. Failure was low even among patients with organisms that would not be expected to be treated successfully with amoxicillin, such as those with beta-lactamase producing H.influenzae and M.catarrhalis. Disclosures Samuel Dominguez, MD, PhD, BioFire (Consultant, Research Grant or Support)


1970 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuber Ahamed Naqvi ◽  
Saleem Shaikh ◽  
Zameer Pasha

BACKGROUND: Bonding is an important step in fixed orthodontic mechanotherapy. Many new materials introduced an adhesive for bonding. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical bond failure rate of orthodontic brackets bonded with green glue: two way color changes adhesive and transbond XT adhesive paste.METHODS: Eighteen male patients with a mean age of 16 years were included in the study. Convenience sampling technique was used to select the sample for this study. The split-mouth design was used to bond 360 brackets by one operator and both adhesives were used in each patient. Bond failure rates were estimated with respect to bonding procedure, dental arch, tooth type (incisor, canine, and premolar). The results were evaluated using the chisquare test. Kaplan – Meier analysis and the log rank test were used to estimate the survival rate of the brackets. Bracket failure rates for each system were analyzed, and failure causes as reported by the patients and the quadrant of each tooth in which bracketsfailed were recorded.RESULTS: The bond failure rate was 5.00% and 4.44% for green gloo and transbond XT group. No significant difference was found in the bond failure rate between transbond XT and Green gloo group. No significant difference was found in the bond failure rate between the two groups, in relation to right and left side and the type of teeth.CONCLUSION: Green gloo adhesive can be effectively used to bond orthodontic brackets.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 264-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kutyłowska

Abstract This paper presents the results of failure rate prediction by means of support vector machines (SVM) – a non-parametric regression method. A hyperplane is used to divide the whole area in such a way that objects of different affiliation are separated from one another. The number of support vectors determines the complexity of the relations between dependent and independent variables. The calculations were performed using Statistical 12.0. Operational data for one selected zone of the water supply system for the period 2008–2014 were used for forecasting. The whole data set (in which data on distribution pipes were distinguished from those on house connections) for the years 2008–2014 was randomly divided into two subsets: a training subset – 75% (5 years) and a testing subset – 25% (2 years). Dependent variables (λr for the distribution pipes and λp for the house connections) were forecast using independent variables (the total length – Lr and Lp and number of failures – Nr and Np of the distribution pipes and the house connections, respectively). Four kinds of kernel functions (linear, polynomial, sigmoidal and radial basis functions) were applied. The SVM model based on the linear kernel function was found to be optimal for predicting the failure rate of each kind of water conduit. This model's maximum relative error of predicting failure rates λr and λp during the testing stage amounted to about 4% and 14%, respectively. The average experimental failure rates in the whole analysed period amounted to 0.18, 0.44, 0.17 and 0.24 fail./(km·year) for the distribution pipes, the house connections and the distribution pipes made of respectively PVC and cast iron.


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