Timber and Multi-Storey Buildings: Industry Perceptions of Adoption in Australia

The use of Engineered Wood Systems (EWS) as structural alternatives or complements of traditional materials, such as steel and concrete, is of growing interest and acceptance in the architecture, engineering, and construction industries. Gathering evidence from the Australian context, this paper proposes a roadmap for the adoption of EWS as the primary structural materials of medium-rise buildings, with the scope of increasing levels of public awareness about the potential and current shortcomings of these building technologies. A nation-wide survey with stakeholders at the forefront of adoption in structural design, construction, and property development, indicates that the demand for timber in multi-storey projects has promising prospects of growth, but faces circumstantial industry-wide hurdles in the short to medium term. Awareness of benefits and inclination towards more use of timber among designers are positive factors that provide a promising base for further adoption. The translation of positive front-end design attitudes into adoption, however, requires holistic long-term investment efforts with industry-wide education. The pathway to innovation for timber in multi-storey projects needs to grow beyond mere promotional strategies of its benefits, seeking to expand technical knowledge through education and reaching out beyond a group of already committed and knowledgeable stakeholders at the forefront of adoption.

Are Canadian medicine librarians directly supporting medical student health and wellness? A nation-wide survey

Introduction: Students in Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME/UME) programs face a variety of stressors that can impact well-being. To address this, the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) mandates that medical schools offer support and programming that promotes student well-being. Academic librarians are accustomed to providing outreach that meets their faculties’ needs. Therefore, the goal of this study was to explore if Canadian undergraduate medical education librarians are supporting medical student wellness at their medical schools, and how they are doing so. Methods: A bilingual, electronic survey containing multiple choice and open-ended questions was distributed across two Canadian health sciences library listservs during the summer of 2020. Librarians supporting UGME/UME programs now or within the last three years were invited to participate. Results: 22 Responses were received, and 17 complete datasets were included in the final results. The majority of respondents have encountered a medical student in distress (n=10) and have adjusted their teaching style or materials to help reduce stress in medical students (n=9). Other initiatives such as resource purchasing, wellness-themed displays, planning wellness-themed events and spaces, and partnerships on campus in support of medical student wellness were less common. Discussion: The data in this study provides evidence that Canadian undergraduate medical education librarians are mindful of medical student well-being, and are taking steps to provide relevant support to this learner group. Librarians could adopt similar initiatives at their libraries to show support for learner wellness, and enhance their programs’ accreditation efforts in this area.

Attitudes Towards Refugees & Immigrants in Greece: a national-local comparative analysis

Over the past decade, Greece has received a significant number of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers who, due to specific decisions taken at both the EU and the national levels, have been “trapped” in Greece for an indefinite period. Dealing with this situation was, and still is, a hot issue, with state policies remaining focused on reception and control rather than on integration. Moreover, the spatial allocation of refugees in specific places throughout the country raised further debate, as they often provoked reactions (of substantial political costs), given that different localities tend to exhibit different attitudes and views towards refugees and immigrants. Since these perceptions seem to exert a significant effect on the direction of public debate and state policy there have been a number of nationwide surveys that have sought to shed light on them. These studies certainly advance our understanding on how Greeks in totality perceive those issues, but they also suffer from serious limitations regarding the specificities that different localities exhibit. On their grounds, the current works seek to provide a comparative analysis between the results of a nation-wide survey and a locally contacted one, contrasting perceptions between people living in Athens metropolitan area and in three small-medium size cities in central Greece (Trikala, Larisa, and Volos), in order to identify similarities and differences in views between the different spatial scales.

Long term dual antiretroviral therapy: A real life retrospective countrywide Israeli study

Aim Combined antiretroviral treatment (cART) traditionally consists of three antiretroviral medications, while two-drug regimens (2DR), historically used infrequently, recently been suggested to be non-inferior to three-drug regimens, is emerging as a potential treatment option and is currently a recommended option for treatment initiation in many guidelines. Purpose Characterize the indications and clinical efficacy of 2DR use at a real-life setting in a nation-wide survey. Methods A cross-sectional survey of Israeli patients treated by 2DR until July 2019, included demographic, immunologic, virologic, genotypic and biochemical/metabolic parameters at diagnosis, ART initiation, 2DR initiation and following 24, 48, 96 and 144 weeks of 2DR treatment. Results 176 patients were included in the study. In contrast to historical data implicating ART resistance and adverse effects as the major reasons leading to 2DR switching, treatment simplification was the main reason leading to 2DR treatment in 2019. 2DR that included INSTI and PI were more commonly used in cases of drug resistance, while a combination of INSTI and NNRTI was used in all other 2DR indications. A switch to 2DR induced a mean CD4 T cell increase from 599 cells/μl at treatment initiation to 680 cells/μl at 96 weeks of treatment p<0.001 and viral suppression improvement from 73.9% at initiation to 87.0% at 48 weeks of treatment (p = 0.004). PI and INSTI 2DR was inferior in suppressing viral levels compared to other 2DRs but used for subset of more complex patients. Conclusions 2DR in a large-scale real-life nation-wide survey proved to be safe and effective. Most 2DRs, other than PI and INSTI, were similarly effective in suppressing HIV viremia and in elevating CD4 T cell counts.

Nation-wide survey of the treatment trend of microscopic polyangiitis and granulomatosis with polyangiitis in Japan using the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Database

ABSTRACT Objectives In Japan, clinical records of patients with intractable diseases, including microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), are compiled into a database. This study aimed to understand the current treatment status and changes in treatment regimens from our previous survey. Methods Using data from 2012 and 2013, patients with new-onset MPA and GPA were extracted and analysed. Results We analysed 1278 MPA and 215 GPA patients. The average age was 71.7 and 62.7 years, respectively. Methylprednisolone pulse therapy was used in 51.2% of MPA patients and 40.5% of GPA patients; the initial prednisolone-equivalent glucocorticoid dose was 39.5 mg/day in MPA and 46.6 mg/day in GPA. Concomitant intravenous or oral cyclophosphamide (CY) was administered to 22.6% of MPA and 56.3% of GPA. Young age, bloody sputum, low serum creatinine, and high C-reactive protein levels were independently associated with CY use in MPA. Compliance with treatment protocol for Japanese patients with myeloperoxidase (MPO)-anti-neutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis study criteria or the 2011 clinical practice guidelines for rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis was 42.7% and 49.7%, respectively. Conclusions MPA was more prevalent than GPA in the registry. Compared to patients with GPA, MPA patients were older and used CY less frequently. No apparent changes in treatment trends were observed from the previous survey.

Indirect costs attributed to headache: A nation-wide survey of an active working population

Background The economic burden of headache in European countries is substantial, mostly related to indirect work-productivity loss costs, yet data for Portugal is scarce. Methods An anonymous web-based survey of headache was distributed to a convenience sample of Portuguese companies’ workforces, to assess last-year headache and “yesterday”-point prevalence. Preexisting headaches were classified into migraine and non-migraine headache and work impact (absenteeism and presenteeism) was evaluated in relation to point prevalence. If no significant selection biases were detected, projected work-loss costs for the whole country were to be calculated. Results Eleven (17%) of 65 invited companies participated, around 15,000 active workers were exposed to the survey and 3624 (24.3%) responded, 73% females, 84.3% with previous (“last-year”) headaches, 53% with migraine. Due to participation and gender bias, national cost-projections were not calculated. Workday point-prevalence was 21% (migraine) and 9% (non-migraine headache), resulting in 14 employees with migraine losing, on average, 4 h and 32 min of work time. Presenteeism occurred in 29% of migraine and 15% of NMH employees. Yearly cost of each employee with a headache disorder was €664.88. Discussion Headache has a significant economic burden, as measured by work loss costs, in Portugal. Company-based interventions should aim to support employees’ access to headache diagnosis and treatment, including non-pharmacological coping strategies, in order to reduce headache related economic costs.

What do healthcare students want to know about artificial intelligence? A Canada-wide survey (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept; it is increasingly integrated into healthcare practice. Many recent commentaries indicated the need to introduce AI literacy training into medical curriculum. However, little is known about what students want to learn about AI, and even less is known from healthcare students outside of medicine. We performed a nation-wide survey of healthcare students across 10 different health professions in Canada. 2167 students across 10 different health professions from 18 universities across Canada responded to the survey. The majority (80%) predicted that AI technology will impact their careers within the coming decade, and 72% reported a positive outlook towards the emerging role of AI in their respective fields. Attitudes towards AI varied by discipline. Findings inform student-identified gaps in knowledge and preferred education delivery formats. This study adds to current literature as it is the first to explore what healthcare students want to learn about AI, and provides insight into future directions for collaboration among sectors such as healthcare, education, and industry.