Improving Healthcare Worker Resilience and Well-Being During COVID-19 Using a Self-Directed E-Learning Intervention

Introduction: High rates of burnout, depression, anxiety, and insomnia in healthcare workers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic have been reported globally.Methods: Responding to the crisis, the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) developed an e-learning course to support healthcare worker well-being and resilience. A self-paced, asynchronous learning model was used as the training intervention. Each module included practical, skill-building activities. An outcome evaluation was conducted to determine if completing the course improved healthcare worker knowledge of and confidence in the learning outcomes of the course, their use of resilience-building behaviours, their resilience, and their well-being. A secondary objective was to explore if there were any associations between behaviours, resilience, and well-being. Participants completed pre- and post-course questionnaires to measure knowledge of and confidence in the learning outcomes, y, frequency of self-reported resilience-building behaviours, and levels of resilience (CD-RISC) and well-being (WHO-5). Results were analysed in STATA using paired T-tests, univariate and multivariate linear regression models.Results: Participants (n = 474; 77.6% female; 55.7% primary care) exhibited significant increases in knowledge, confidence, resilience-building behaviour, resilience, and well-being scores. Statistically significant improvements in the frequency of resilience-building behaviours led to significant improvements in resilience (0.25 points; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.43) and well-being (0.21 points; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.36). Increasing changes in well-being scores had a positive effect on change in resilience scores (β = 0.20; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.29), and vice versa (β = 0.28; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.41).Conclusion: A healthcare worker e-learning course can build knowledge and skills that may prompt changes in resilience-building behaviours and improvements in well-being and resilience scores. The findings suggest that e-learning courses may improve more than competency-based outcomes alone but further research is warranted to further explore these relationships.

An examination of nest-building behaviour using five different nesting materials in C57BL/6J and BALB/c mice

The aim of our study was to assess the nest-building behaviour of two mouse (Mus musculus) strains using different nesting materials and examine possible sex- and housing-specific effects. Adult mice of two strains (C57BL/6J; n = 64 and BALB/cAnNCrl; n = 99) were randomly allocated to the following housing groups: single-housed male, single-housed female, pair-housed male and pair-housed female. One of the following nest-building materials was placed in each home-cage in a random order: nestlets (Plexx BV, The Netherlands), cocoons (Carfil, Belgium), wooden wool, crinklets and compact (all three, Safe, Germany). The following day, nests were rated applying a nest-scoring scale ranging from 0 to 10, the nests were removed, and a different nest-building material provided. In both tested strains, nestlets achieved the highest nest-building scores when compared to the other four nest-building materials. All nest-building materials scored higher in BALB/c mice compared to C57BL/6J animals reaching statistical significance in crinklets only. Sex comparison revealed that female C57BL/6J mice only scored significantly higher using crinklets than males and BALB/c female mice were rated significantly higher using wooden wool, cocoons and compact than their male counterparts. While pair-housed C57BL/6J animals built higher-rated nests than single-housed mice in the C57BL/6J strain in all five materials tested, the scores were not significantly different in the BALB/c strain. Results of the present study reveal significant strain-, sex- and housing-related influences on the complexity of nests using different standardised building materials. Such observations need to be taken into account when planning the optimal enrichment programme for laboratory animals.

Development of a Modelica-based simplified building model for district energy simulations

Urban Building Energy Simulation (UBES) is an efficient tool to investigate and subsequently reduce energy demand of urban areas. Nevertheless, UBES has always been a challenging task due the trade-off between accuracy, computational speed and parametrization. In order to reduce these computation and parameterization requirements, model reduction and simplification methods aim at representing building behaviour with an acceptable accuracy, but using less equations and input parameters. This paper presents the development and validation results of a simplified urban simulation model based on the ISO 13790 Standard and written in the Modelica language. The model describes the thermo-physical behaviour of buildings by means of an equivalent electric network consisting of five resistances and one capacitance. The validation of the model was carried out using four cases of the ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 140. In general, the model shows good accuracy and the validation provided values within the acceptable ranges.

Non-Linear Analysis of Asymmetric Structures

The study of multi-story building behaviour always depends on strength, durability, stiffness and adequacy of the regular configuration of the structures. Understanding the seismic behaviour of asymmetric structures is a challenging task, considering the aspect of irregularity (either in the plan or elevation) is generally known as asymmetric. Various researchers had studied the behaviour of this asymmetrical building by taking into considerations of different approaches such as plan configuration, vertical irregularity, mass and stiffness, in different methods of analysis. The irregular structures are less prone to the seismic forces, hence there is a need to study and specify some improvements in codal provisions for this type of asymmetrical structures. In the present study, we have considered a plan irregular structure (which replicates the Microsoft building at Hyderabad). The overall structural behaviour of asymmetrical building is investigated under different earthquake cases, such as with El-Centro, Loma and Uttarkashi database. Analysis of structure (using software program E-TABS V-17) for various earthquake intensities and checking for multiple criteria at every level for essential practice. The non-linear methods Time History analysis is carried over to find the structural behaviour. Keywords: multi-story building, plan irregularity, Time history analysis

Nest-Building Effort is Not An Indicator of Male Quality In Bonelli’s Eagles, Aquila fasciata

Raptors often use a variety of materials to build their nests (natural, such as branches, but also non-natural objects), presumably due to their insulating properties, their suitability to advertise occupancy of the nest, and to decrease pathogen and parasite loads. The amount of branches used in a nest is an indicator of parental quality and is often associated with increased breeding success. However, in raptors where both sexes collaborate in nest construction, it is unclear whether the effort expended by males (taking the amount of material carried to the nest as the potential predictor) could constitute an honest signal of parental quality to female conspecifics. We examined data on sex, type of material brought to the nest, breeding experience, timing, and nest-building investment prior to egg-laying from 32 identifiable Bonelli’s Eagles (Aquila fasciata) during the pre-laying period to investigate the relative contribution of the sexes to the amount of nest material gathered. We asked: (1) whether the nest-building investment of males could provide information to the females about their quality; and (2) whether the amount of material delivered to the nest by the male was related to breeding success. Despite the considerable investment of males in nest-building during the pre-laying period, our results indicate that this effort is not a consistent indicator of male quality to the female. Therefore, male nest-building behaviour and investment by Bonelli’s Eagles cannot be considered as an extended expression of their phenotype (an extended phenotypic signal). Nest-building behaviour by males in the early and late stages of nest-building, and the fact that males were not significantly more active builders, are discussed in the contexts of signaling nest occupancy to conspecifics and competitors, the decrease of parasite loads, and the strengthening of the pair-bond during the pre-laying period.

Effect of Aspect Ratio on High Rise Structures with Diagrid

Urbanization and population explosion in the present times has led to increase in demand for land and residencies but the availability of land is scare i.e reason a trend has evolved for construction of high rise structures in high rise structures major emphasis given to lateral load resisting systems. As diagrid structural system is lighter, stiffer and is effective in resisting the lateral loads, the present investigation carried out to study the performance diagrid on high rise structures varying aspect ratio. The study is carried out to observe the performance of diagrid structures ranging from 30 to 90 storeys. Diagrid structures are modelled with 3 storey module and performance of 7 models with different storeys i.e 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 (aspect ratio 3.67-10.86) and with fixed plan area. As a part 1 investigation to optimise the diagrid angle a 30 storey Diagrid structure performance is studied with 4 different diagrid angles one storey module angle 35°45’, Two storey module angle 55°13’, Three storey module 65°9’, Four storey module 70°51’. The optimized diagrid angle is used for different aspect ratio high rise structures to investigate the performance in terms of Storey displacement, Storey drift ratio, base shear and time period. For all the models plan area is fixed. Second part of investigation was a numerical study carried out by utilizing identified optimum angle of diagrid is applied on high rise buildings with aspect ratios 3.67, 4.86, 6.06, 7.26, 8.46, 9.67, 10.86 (Aspect ratio is the total height of the building to the width of the building). Behaviour of the Diagrid buildings due to change in aspect ratio is analysed based on parameters such as Storey displacements, Storey drift ratio, Base shear, Time period. As a part of investigation parameters such as Storey displacements and storey drift ratio were evaluated if they were within the limits as per IS code provisions. Percentage increase in storey displacements, maximum storey drift ratio,

Dynamic environments do not appear to constrain spider web building behaviour

Many laboratory experiments demonstrate how orb-web spiders change the architecture of their webs in response to prey, surroundings and wind loading. The overall shape of the web and a range of other web parameters are determined by frame and anchor threads. In the wild, unlike the lab, the anchor threads are attached to branches and leaves that are not stationary but move, which affects the thread tension field. Here we experimentally test the effect of a moving support structure on the construction behaviour and web-parameters of the garden cross spider Araneus diadematus. We found no significant differences in building behaviour between rigid and moving anchors in total time spent and total distance covered nor in the percentage of the total time spent and distance covered to build the three major web components: radials, auxiliary and capture spirals. Moreover, measured key parameters of web-geometry were equally unaffected. These results call for re-evaluation of common understanding of spider webs as thread tensions are often considered to be a major factor guiding the spider during construction and web-operation.

A Review on Reinforced Concrete Beam Column Joint: Role, Modeling and Recent Details

Reinforced concrete frames are commonly used systems in buildings. The philosophy behind the proper design for this type of frames is to provide them with sufficient ductility. The structural ductility of a frame is mainly determined by the ductility of its components, i.e., the beams, columns, and joints forming this frame. Beam-column joint role in a building is to connect its components together and enable these components to reach their ultimate resistance. Its stiffness, strength, and ductility are key characteristics needed to guarantee efficient building behaviour under the action of different loads. Previous research attributed some building’s damage to inadequate reinforcement details of its joints. Deficiency in joints performance is related to inadequate codes guidelines or to bad construction practice. This paper reviewed the provisions of three different codes (ACI 318-08, Eurocode 8, and ECP-203) concerning the proper design and detailing of different joints. This review study aims to introduce a wider overview on the assessment of joints performance in buildings under different loading scenarios. This data base will enable practicing engineers to identify the joint key parameters with providing different analytical procedures. This study investigates joints in different configurations. These include planner joints, joints with transverse beams, and the common joint situation with the presence of both transverse beams and slab. This survey includes experimental and analytical representation of the previous mentioned joints. Different retrofitting schemes are presented as well for every considered joint. This review allows to identify the evolution of joints capacity in function of reinforcement detailing, level of axial stresses, and loading history. The analysis shows that a decrease in joint resistance can be recovered by using i) haunches brackets, ii) FRP, or iii) post tension metal strip.

Building damage assessment and settlement monitoring in subsidence-affected urban areas: case study in the Netherlands

Buildings in subsiding areas may suffer from settlements causing damages of different severity levels with high impact in terms of yearly economic losses. In these contexts, a systematic damage assessment jointly with continuous monitoring of relevant parameters (e.g. settlements exhibited by points located on the roof) can be extremely useful to control the building behaviour and develop forecasting models. In this regard, the paper presents the results of an integrated analysis carried out on a subsidence-affected urban area in the Netherlands where the availability of multi-temporal building damage surveys and a long DInSAR monitoring dataset allowed both retrieving quantitative empirical relationships between the cause (magnitude of the selected intensity parameter, IP) and the effect (recorded damage severity level, DL) and generating empirical fragility and vulnerability curves. The results pointed out the importance of considering the exact dating of the onset of building damage and the corresponding magnitude of the considered IP in the generation of quantitative forecasting models.