Maha Moddather Hassan

Bridges play an essential role in supporting economic development. Many highway bridges have been built in Saudi Arabia, with studies showing early signs of deterioration, including cracking and localized failures. This study presents a comprehensive condition assessment of roadway bridges located in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, based on a large-scale visual inspection campaign covering 283 bridges with varying ages, structural systems, dimensions, and operational conditions. The inspected bridges primarily consisted of reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete systems, with beam-type bridges representing the dominant structural configuration. The investigation identified and analyzed several deterioration mechanisms and defects affecting bridge performance and durability. This study highlights the influence of environmental exposure, insufficient maintenance practices, construction deficiencies, and traffic-related impacts on the observed deterioration patterns. The presented condition assessment database provides valuable insight into deterioration trends affecting bridge infrastructure in hot-arid environments and establishes a foundation for future deterioration modeling, maintenance prioritization, and bridge asset management applications in an area of limited similar studies. The outcomes of this work contribute to improving bridge inspection practices and supporting evidence-based maintenance and rehabilitation strategies for aging bridge infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and regions with similar climatic conditions.

Old steel bridges present a wide range of structural issues that require the use of specific procedures to assess their structural safety and performance. In this research, the structural conditions of the Gerga Railway Bridge in Egypt were examined and recommendations for repairs were provided. This was accomplished with specific emphasis on presenting the challenges the team encountered and had to overcome to properly assess and repair the bridge structure. The structural assessment of the Gerga Bridge was part of a campaign that included the assessment of 75 majority old and poorly documented steel bridges that were part of the railway network in Egypt. The study included visual inspection, structural analysis, and fatigue considerations. In addition, an experimental field-testing program was established and included static, dynamic, and material tests. Results from these tests were used to validate the numerical models that were developed and used for further analyses. Finally, practical repair techniques were explored. The procedures presented in this study and the challenges that were overcome for bridge assessment, repair, testing, and numerical modeling provide a benchmark case that could be used for other bridges that are aging, not properly repaired overtime, or bridges that do not have a well-documented design and repair records.

Generative artificial intelligent tools have impacted higher education worldwide providing both opportunities and challenges. These tools offer transformative potential by enhancing teaching, learning, and administrative processes. However, the advancement in large language models with the ability to perform complex natural-language processing tasks encouraged students to use in different course work leading to risks of academic dishonesty. The effects of biases on these tools are still unclear. Moreover, use of generative AI designs and photos in art-related disciplines is another challenge. Until now, universities have been taking different approaches to integrate the use of this technology into academic policies. This paper seeks to provide an overview of research on the influence of generative AI tools on higher education through a systematic approach. 4950 publications were initially identified for the period between 2022 And 2025. This paper highlights the main findings of the review study focusing on students’ perception of these tools, influence on their performance, and governing policies. It is found that these tools are reshaping the academic world, yet universities are still lagging in their integration.

خلاصة تم دمج الجسور المعدنية ذات السطح المتعامد كنظام هيكلي فعال في العديد من جسور الطرق بسبب الانخفاض الكبير في الحمل الميت للجسر. تقدم الدراسة الحالية دراسة هيكلية أجريت على أحد كباري الطرق الرئيسية، كوبري السيدة عائشة، الواقع في القاهرة القديمة، مصر. ظل الجسر في الخدمة لأكثر من 50 عامًا ويمثل أحد أنظمة السطح المتعامد الفولاذية المحدودة في المحافظة. أجريت الدراسة بناءً على طلب محافظة القاهرة لتحديد الحالة الحالية للجسر وتقييم قدرته على تحمل الأحمال العالية. علاوة على ذلك، ورد أن الجسر تعرض لعدة حوادث طوال عمره الخدمي مما كان يُعتقد أنه يؤثر على قدرته. تضمنت دراسة التقييم التفتيش البصري والاختبار غير المدمر والتحليلات العددية بالإضافة إلى اقتراح منهجيات الإصلاح المناسبة. في البحث الحالي، تم تسليط الضوء على المشاكل الإنشائية الأكثر شيوعًا وتقييمها. تشمل المشاكل التي تم ملاحظتها التآكل والشقوق والتشوهات الدائمة في العناصر الإنشائية ومشاكل الاهتزاز وتأثير الحريق على أعضاء الجسور. وفي الختام، تلخص الدراسة الخطوات التي تم إجراؤها أثناء الدراسة؛ وتسرد ملاحظات الدراسة؛ وتعرض نتائج التحليل...