Comparative analysis of Student's live online learning readiness during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the higher education sector.

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, many countries are facing a dramatic situation in terms of the global economy and human social activities, including education. The shutdown of schools is affecting many students around the world, with face-to-face classes suspended. Many countries facing the disastrous situation imposed class suspension at an early stage of the coronavirus outbreak, and Asia was one of the earliest regions to implement live online learning. Despite previous research on online teaching and learning, students' readiness to participate in the real-time online learning implemented during the coronavirus outbreak is not yet well understood. This study explored several key factors in the research framework related to learning motivation, learning readiness and student's self-efficacy in participating in live online learning during the coronavirus outbreak, taking into account gender differences and differences among sub-degree (SD), undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students. Technology readiness was used instead of conventional online/internet self-efficacy to determine students' live online learning readiness. The hypothetical model was validated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results revealed no statistically significant differences between males and females. On the other hand, the mean scores for PG students were higher than for UG and SD students based on the post hoc test. We argue that during the coronavirus outbreak, gender differences were reduced because students are forced to learn more initiatively. We also suggest that students studying at a higher education degree level may have higher expectations of their academic achievement and were significantly different in their online learning readiness. This study has important implications for educators in implementing live online learning, particularly for the design of teaching contexts for students from different educational levels. More virtual activities should be considered to enhance the motivation for students undertaking lower-level degrees, and encouragement of student-to-student interactions can be considered.

Injectable microparticle-gel system for prolonged and localized lidocaine release. I. In vitro characterization.

Current treatment protocol for postoperative pain is to infuse anesthetic solution around nerves or into the epidural space. This clinical practice is beset by the short duration of the anesthetic effect unless the infusion is continuous. Continuous infusion, however, requires hospitalization of the patients, thereby increasing medical costs. In addition, it also causes systemic accumulation of the drug. We reported herein a novel treatment for the postoperative pain by applying to the surgical site a biodegradable microsphere-gel system for prolonged and localized release of encapsulated anesthetic drugs. This lidocaine-containing biodegradable poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PLA) microsphere system, although being established previously by other investigators, was hindered by a burst release and a followed rapid release of the drug within several hours in vitro. In this article, we demonstrated that by a step-by-step modification of the formulation, prolonged release of lidocaine, up to several days in vitro, could be achieved. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed a lower glass transition temperature for these lidocaine-loaded microspheres comparing to that of lidocaine-free microspheres. This decreased Tg explained for the tendency of the lidocaine-loaded microspheres to physically fuse at higher temperatures. In vitro studies showed that microspheres, when loaded with 35% lidocaine, yielded a threefold increase in the degradation rate. The molecular weight of PLA of the drug-loaded microspheres was reduced by 50% within a period of 1 month. Based on the results (of prolonged lidocaine release and rapid PLA microsphere degradation), this lidocaine-loaded PLA microsphere system could offer a simple solution to the treatment of postoperative pain.

Injectable microparticle-gel system for prolonged and localized lidocaine release. II. In vivo anesthetic effects.

Current treatment protocols for postoperative pain are beset by either the short duration of the anesthetic effect or requirement of hospitalization of the patients. We reported herein a novel treatment by applying to the surgical site a biodegradable microparticle-gel system for prolonged and localized release of encapsulated anesthetic drugs. In a previous publication, lidocaine-loaded poly(D,L-lactic acid) microspheres were fabricated and their formulations were optimized. In vitro characterization of these lidocaine-loaded microspheres, however, revealed a shortcoming of this system; that is, microspheres tend to fuse physically. Fusion of the microspheres could hinder their clinical applications, as it would clog the needle. In this article, we demonstrated that fabricating microspheres with high molecular weight (approximately 60 KDa) poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) would increase the glass transition temperature of the microspheres after lidocaine loading, thereby increasing their mechanical stability and eliminating their fusion during storage. Such microspheres containing 31% (w/w) lidocaine in the presence or absence of 25% (w/v) poloxamer 407 gel were then evaluated in vivo by monitoring the sensory and motor functions of the rats after sciatic nerve block, using the previously established hot-plate and weight-bearing testing methods. Results showed that microspheres formulated with poloxamer 407 gel yielded the longest duration of sensory and motor block for a period of approximately 8.5 h, compared to 5 h by microspheres in saline, 5 h by lidocaine in poloxamer 407 gel, and 2 h by lidocaine in saline. This study suggests that the microsphere-gel system containing lidocaine could potentially be applied clinically to the treatment of postoperative pain.