Responsiveness and Adaptability of Healthcare Facilities in Emergency Scenarios: COVID-19 Experience

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed many vulnerabilities of the contemporary built environment along with limited preparedness and low efficiency in mitigating unexpected and unprecedented challenges. This article discusses the efficiency and responsiveness of basic hospital spatial layouts in three different scenarios: normal operation; the segregation of a large number of patients and still providing them with access to emergency healthcare, typical for a pandemic; and a sudden, extremely high number of admissions typical for compound disasters and terrorist attacks. A set of parameters and a method for general adaptability assessment (GAAT) that can be used as a tool in decision-making processes as well as evaluation of both existing facilities and the new models for resilient hospitals resulting from the experience of the pandemic are proposed. The paper emphasizes why factors among which adaptability, convertibility, and scalability should be at the very core of hospital development and management strategies. It also discusses new models of adaptable healthcare facilities that enable day-to-day operations to continue alongside a pandemic, and other emergency scenarios.

MODELING OF HOT OIL LEAKAGE AT REGENERATION GAS HEATER ON DEHYDRATION PROCESS OF NATURAL GAS LIQUIFIED EXTRACTION (NGLE) GAS PLANT

The regeneration process in saturated dehydrator after working to drying the gas in the dehydration unit in the Natural Gas Liquified Extraction (NGLE) plant. This process is through the heating dehydrator process by flowing the regeneration gas into the dehydrator slowly (rump up temperature) until it reaches the heating temperature,and then holding the condition. Its condition is in accordance with the engineering design and followed by a rump down temperature which the dehydrator will be cooled down and ready for the dehydration process. This regeneration process works automatically in accordance with the engineering design which runs following the logic control that has been implemented into the Distributed Control System (DCS) in the Control Room. All order in DCS to obtain gas that has been moisture limited value which is allowed to be extracted. Regeneration gas was taken from the heat exchange between hot oil and regeneration gas in the regeneration gas heater package. This operation happend when the rump up temperature leaks the hot oil in the flange fitting of the regeneration gas heater package, its causes oil spillage (engineering design standart operation procedur). Its analysis case assumed the leakage is caused by thermal shock in the fittings of regeneration gas heater package in 2 % hot oil supply. To eliminate the thermal shock, a simulation of new models engineering design is initial by opening of the hot oil supply to the regeneration gas heater was changes with increasing its opening during stand-by conditions from 2% with a temperature at 45.72°C to 5% with a temperature at 51.61C in the Distributed Control System (DCS) logic control. The results goals with this implementation are no more hot oil leaks occur in the regeneration gas heater package. New models engineering design is stopping hot oil spillage, and maintaining operational continuity without having to spend money on repairing the regeneration gas heater package. process run in new models of engineering design, and this model becomes the new standard operating in start-up and commissioning plant process.

Modeling Human Cardiac Arrhythmias: Insights from Zebrafish

Cardiac arrhythmia, or irregular heart rhythm, is associated with morbidity and mortality and is described as one of the most important future public health challenges. Therefore, developing new models of cardiac arrhythmia is critical for understanding disease mechanisms, determining genetic underpinnings, and developing new therapeutic strategies. In the last few decades, the zebrafish has emerged as an attractive model to reproduce in vivo human cardiac pathologies, including arrhythmias. Here, we highlight the contribution of zebrafish to the field and discuss the available cardiac arrhythmia models. Further, we outline techniques to assess potential heart rhythm defects in larval and adult zebrafish. As genetic tools in zebrafish continue to bloom, this model will be crucial for functional genomics studies and to develop personalized anti-arrhythmic therapies.

Innovation in the computer industry

A learning-curve approach has been employed to study inventiveness in the computer industry. The appearance of new models as well as the appearance of new computer manufacturers have been following typical logistic S-curves over the last 26 years of computer history. Innovation seems to come in S-waves, and even though many of today's major manufacturers are close to exhausting their maximum innovation potential in their present S-wave, the overall computer market is rather “young”. In contrast, the personal computer market is already beyond its maturity phase. Remarkably invariant over the 26 years considered, and through the complete range of computer sizes, remains the fact that for every five new computer models appearing on the market, there is one new computer company emerging also.

Comparison of Six Passive Exoskeletons for Upper Limbs Using the TOPSIS Method

The use of exoskeletons in occupational tasks has increased significantly in the last five years. However, few comparative studies have been conducted to understand the advantages and disadvantages of existing exoskeletons. This chapter presents the comparison of six exoskeletons using the TOPSIS method. Using databases of patents and commercial products, a total of six that were chosen to be compared by experts in the design and/or use of exoskeletons. The criteria evaluated were exoskeleton weight, load capacity, anthropometric adjusts, maintenance, and installation on the user. The Shoulder-X exoskeleton was selected as the best, serving as a reference for the acquisition of characteristics for recommendations for the development of new models for use in occupational tasks.

Self-Reported Autonomic Dysregulation in Gulf War Illness

ABSTRACT Introduction Autonomic nervous system dysregulation is commonly observed in Gulf War illness (GWI). Using a new sample, we sought to replicate and extend findings from a previous study that found autonomic symptoms predicted physical functioning in Veterans with GWI. Materials and Methods A linear regression model was used to predict physical functioning (36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36); n = 73, 75% male). First, we examined the predictive value of independent variables individually in the model including: the 31-item Composite Autonomic Symptom Score (COMPASS-31) total score, body mass index (BMI), mental health burden (i.e., post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and/or depression), and COMPASS-31 subscales: orthostatic intolerance, vasomotor, secretomotor, gastrointestinal, bladder, and pupillomotor. Next, we estimated linear regression models containing the three variables (autonomic symptoms, BMI, and mental health burden) identified as predictors of physical functioning from the prior study. Results These linear regression models significantly predicted physical functioning and accounted for 15% of the variance with COMPASS-31, 36.6% of variance with COMPASS-31 and BMI, and 38.2% of variance with COMPASS-31, BMI, and mental health burden. Then, forward step-wise linear regressions were applied to explore new models including COMPASS-31 subscales. Two new models accounted for more of the variance in physical functioning: 39.3% with added gastrointestinal symptoms (β = −2.206, P = .001) and 43.4% of variance with both gastrointestinal (β = −1.592, P = .008) and secretomotor subscales (β = −1.533, P = .049). Unlike the previous study we intended to replicate, mental health burden was not a significant predictor in any of our models. Conclusions Treatments that address autonomic dysregulation should be prioritized for research and clinical recommendations for Veterans with GWI who experience chronic pain.

Digital Mediatization in Medicine: New Models of Clinic-to-Doctor-to-Patient Interaction

Mediatization is an interdisciplinary construct, which allows us to study how the transformation of social institutions is affected by media influence and social theories. Researchers are focusing on peoples digital representations and new interaction models. As digital networks grow and overlap with traditional interaction forms, new models of clinic-doctor-patient interaction emerge. Researching this reveals the efficiency of communicative constructivism. The purpose of the research is to study the transformative effect of mediatization on medicine. The research methodology is based on communicative constructivism and phenomenological approach, including analysis of 70 Instagram accounts of doctors and clinics and in-depth interviews of 10 St. Petersburg-based doctors. The research validates the transformation tendencies in medicine as a social institution.

Fractal–Fractional Michaelis–Menten Enzymatic Reaction Model via Different Kernels

In this paper, three new models of fractal–fractional Michaelis–Menten enzymatic reaction (FFMMER) are studied. We present these models based on three different kernels, namely, power law, exponential decay, and Mittag-Leffler kernels. We construct three schema of successive approximations according to the theory of fractional calculus and with the help of Lagrange polynomials. The approximate solutions are compared with the resulting numerical solutions using the finite difference method (FDM). Because the approximate solutions in the classical case of the three models are very close to each other and almost matches, it is sufficient to compare one model, and the results were good. We investigate the effects of the fractal order and fractional order for all models. All calculations were performed using Mathematica software.