World trade has been increasing dramatically in the past two decades, and as a result containers exchange has grown significantly. Accordingly, container terminals are expanding to meet this increase and new container ports have opened. Ports with one or more container terminals are considered complex systems in which many resources, entities and transporters interact to achieve the objective of safely moving containers delivered by ships inland as well as loading containers delivered by trucks and rail onto ships. Ports with multimodal transportation systems are in particular complex as they typically operate with ships arriving to one or more terminals, multiple quay cranes, rubber tyred gantry cranes, trains, and trucks delivering containers of different types to terminals.With several resources of different types working and interacting, the system can be so complex that it is not easy to predict the behavior of the system and its performance metrics without the use of simulation. In this paper, a generic discrete-event simulation that models port operations with different resource types including security gates, space, rubber tyred gantry cranes, trains, quay cranes, and arriving and departing ships, trucks, and trains is presented. The analysis will entail studying various scenarios motivated by changes in different inputs to measure their impact on the outputs that include throughput, resource utilization and waiting times

The increasing complexity of healthcare delivery and the advancements in medical technology have highlighted the necessity for improved training in nursing education. While traditional training methods have their merits, they often encounter challenges such as limited access to clinical placements, static physical simulations, and performance anxiety during hands-on practice. Virtual reality (VR) has been increasingly adopted for immersive and interactive training environments, allowing nursing students to practice essential skills repeatedly in realistic, risk-free settings. This study presents NursingXR, a VR-based platform designed to help nursing students master essential clinical skills. With a scalable and flexible architecture, NursingXR is tailored to support a variety of nursing lessons and adapt to evolving curricula. The platform has a modular design and offers two interactive modes: Training Mode, which provides step-by-step guided instruction, and Evaluation Mode, which allows for independent performance assessment. This article details the development process of the platform, including key design principles, system architecture, and implementation strategies, while emphasizing its utility and scalability. A mixed-methods evaluation involving 78 participants—both novices and experts—was conducted to evaluate the platform’s usability and user satisfaction. The results underscore NursingXR’s effectiveness in fostering an effective and engaging learning environment as well as its potential as a supplementary resource for nursing training.

Robert E. Kelly Jr., M.D., Robert J. Obermeyer, M.D., M. Ann Kuhn, M.D., Frazier W. Frantz, M.D., Mohammad F. Obeid, Nahom Kidane, and Frederic D. McKenzie. Korean J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2018;51:390-4. https://doi.org/10.5090/kjtcs.2018.51.6.390

Immersive technology platforms such as virtual reality (VR) are used by many to create experiences that allow for efficient training, visceral encounters, and faithful reproduction of places and times. This work investigates the various elements that contribute to the design of an effective immersive experience and proposes a taxonomy that establishes levels (ranks) for each of these elements.