Recruitment, Readiness, and Retention of Providers at a Field Hospital during the Pandemic

In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the State of Maryland established a 250-bed emergency response field hospital at the Baltimore Convention Center to support the existing healthcare infrastructure. To operationalize this hospital with 65 full-time equivalent (FTE) clinicians in less than four weeks, more than 300 applications were reviewed, 186 candidates were interviewed, and 159 clinicians were credentialed and onboarded. The key steps to achieve this undertaking involved employing multidisciplinary teams with experienced personnel, mass outreach, streamlined candidate tracking, pre-interview screening, utilizing all available expertise, expedited credentialing, and focused onboarding. To ensure staff preparedness, the leadership developed innovative team models, applied principles of effective team building, and provided ‘just in time’ training on COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related topics to the staff. The leadership focused on staff safety and well-being, offered appropriate financial remuneration and provided leadership opportunities that allowed retention of staff.

A new technique for remote location of unknown caves and deep-seated faults by unmanned aerial systems (UAS)

Here, for the first time in Bulgaria, we demonstrate that aerial survey of the terrain with a coaxial thermal and visible camera mounted on an UAS can detect much larger number of entrances to underground cavities and deep seated faults than a detailed systematic ground survey by experienced personnel. Thus geophysical problems are solved with these remote sensing methods. It is extremely promising and reveals great opportunities for improving techniques for location of unknown caves and deep seated faults to a much higher level. Obtained results are a significant step forward in the state-of-the art.

1558 Epiglottic Abscess: A Rare Complication of Adult Epiglottitis

This report summarises a case of a 23-year-old female who was found to have an epiglottic abscess, an unusual complication of epiglottitis not commonly reported in the literature. Despite the reduced incidence of childhood epiglottitis following widespread Haemophilus Influenzae vaccination, the adult incidence is nonetheless increasing, which would lead to expected higher numbers of resultant complications. Abscess formation should form part of the differential diagnosis when epiglottitis fails to adequately respond to medical management. In these cases, cross-sectional imaging is often required in order to guide surgical management. This involves endoscopic transoral incision and drainage under general anaesthesia, which here brought rapid resolution. Perioperative support of the anaesthetic team is vital: if endotracheal intubation is not possible, a surgical tracheostomy may be required. We reaffirm that endoscopic examination by experienced personnel is appropriate in the initial and ongoing investigation of supraglottic laryngeal infections in order to make a diagnosis and evaluate an airway in stable patients. Such patients must be managed on a ward with airway trained nursing staff and an escalation plan in case of airway compromise. In patients that present in airway obstruction, airway stabilization, with early input from ENT surgeons and anaesthetists, is the priority.

AN INSIGHT INTO SICK BUILDING SYNDROME THROUGH AYURVEDA – A REVIEW ARTICLE

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the causes, consequences, and solutions for sick building syndrome (SBS). The approach taken is to evaluate and analyse the causes and symptoms of SBS from various literature and to give it a possible Ayurvedic correlation. The review’s findings reveal the effects of SBS in terms of the variety of medical symptoms experienced, personnel or human resource concerns, and economic impacts. The benefit of the paper is that it provides a comprehensive understanding of SBS from both modern and Ayurvedic perspectives by providing full information on its causation, preventive strategies, and symptomatic management using Ayurvedic principles. Keywords: Sick building syndrome, consequences, medical symptoms, ayurvedic principles

Towards the Optimization of eDNA/eRNA Sampling Technologies for Marine Biosecurity Surveillance

The field of eDNA is growing exponentially in response to the need for detecting rare and invasive species for management and conservation decisions. Developing technologies and standard protocols within the biosecurity sector must address myriad challenges associated with marine environments, including salinity, temperature, advective and deposition processes, hydrochemistry and pH, and contaminating agents. These approaches must also provide a robust framework that meets the need for biosecurity management decisions regarding threats to human health, environmental resources, and economic interests, especially in areas with limited clean-laboratory resources and experienced personnel. This contribution aims to facilitate dialogue and innovation within this sector by reviewing current approaches for sample collection, post-sampling capture and concentration of eDNA, preservation, and extraction, all through a biosecurity monitoring lens.

Changes in Lifeguards’ Hazard Detection and Eye Movements with Experience: Is One Season Enough?

Surveillance is key to the lifesaving capability of lifeguards. Experienced personnel consistently display enhanced hazard detection capabilities compared to less experienced counterparts. However, the mechanisms which underpin this effect and the time it takes to develop these skills are not understood. We hypothesized that, after one season of experience, the number of hazards detected by, and eye movements of, less experienced lifeguards (LEL) would more closely approximate experienced lifeguards (EL). The LEL watched ‘beach scene’ videos at the beginning and end of their first season. The number of hazards detected and eye-movement data were collected and compared to the EL group. The LEL perceived fewer hazards than EL and did not increase over the season. There was no difference in eye-movements between groups. Findings suggest one season is not enough for lifeguards to develop enhanced hazard detection skills and skill level differences are not underpinned by differences in gaze behavior.

Automatic manpower allocation for public construction projects using a rough set enhanced neural network

Accurate estimates of manpower are still heavily dependent on well-experienced personnel. The objectives of this study are to prove the feasibility of using rough set theory to classify and weight impact attributes, and to develop a model to assess the total quantities of labor needed for a construction project using a rough set enhanced artificial neural network (ANN). Experts suggest 14 attributes that influence the estimation of on-site manpower for construction projects. After trimming and analyzing the basic data, the rough set approach is used to classify and weight the attributes into 3 levels of impact based on their frequency. A rough set enhanced ANN is accordingly developed that yields an accuracy rate of 91.903%, higher than that of a regular ANN. A practical and effective prediction model benefits personnel having to estimate on-site manpower needs for construction projects.