DESIGN OF A NET ZERO HOUSE AT 100-YEAR FLOOD ZONE IN A HISTORIC DISTRICT: A CASE OF SOLAR DECATHLON DESIGN CHALLENGE ENTRY

This paper discusses the design of a net-zero single-family house in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which was proposed for the 2022 Solar Decathlon Design Challenge entry. The site was in a 100-year flood zone and registered as a national and local historic district. The interdisciplinary team consisted of University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC) students from the interior architecture and engineering departments who embraced the challenges of the local climate and the restrictions of the historic district guidelines. This entry, Moc House, focused on the integration of passive design and active HVAC systems including photovoltaic systems in the process. In responding to recent housing market changes in Chattanooga due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a young professional couple in their 30s who have two children was identified as the target market which guided the space planning. Market analysis, including ROI, was conducted in addition to construction cost calculations. Building materials were selected to enhance the durability and resilience of the house structure. Finally, energy analysis was conducted to check the project's Home Energy Rating using Ekotrope and found it less than zero. © 2023, College Publishing. All rights reserved.

REMOTE WORKING STRATEGY INDUCED BY COVID-19: A CASE STUDY

With the hope of regaining their pre-pandemic level of operations and certainties, companies who employ knowledge workers wonder whether working from home will be the main modality of employment going forward. The managers should understand the problems and opportunities and need to develop successful management strategies. This study analyzed the feasibility of remote working and looked for ways to improve employees' productivity while working at home. A survey was conducted on R&D engineers of a software company. Most employees reported no change in their productivity and less change in their physical health, while most employees reported an improvement in their mental health. The top four benefits of remote working are stress reduction from commuting, more freedom, location independence, and better work-life balance. The top three challenges are face-to-face interactions, dealing with distraction, and bad health habits. The top four tools that employees found necessary were face-to-face meetings at least once per month, better hardware and equipment, training and learning, and opportunities for non-work-related remote social interactions. The study indicates that regular face-to-face meetings are essential for successful remote collaboration. Also, if possible, a hybrid schedule should be considered, with remote work two or three days per week. A framework model for successful remote working programs was developed to summarize the findings of this study and to serve as a reference for decision making and further analysis. Finally, a remote work program's success can be measured through four factors: safety and regulatory compliance, environmental impact, productivity and cost reduction, and worker satisfaction. © American Society for Engineering Management, 2021

Tracheostomy in COVID-19 pandemic Era

The outbreak of new coronavirus (COVID-19) has emerged as the cause of a severe acute respiratory. The COVID-19 pandemic led to an unexpected increase in the number of patients who are critically ill and required mechanical ventilation for active respiratory support. Tracheostomy is a common surgical procedure performed on patient to provide long-term ventilator support or to manage upper airway obstruction. It could be a critical role in the management of COVID-19 patients. Insertion of a tracheal cannula has become a viable alternative to prolonged endotracheal intubation, with the benefits of decreased airway resistance, improved patient comfort, reduced need for sedation, easier sputum removal. While these interventions could be necessary to provide adequate care, they require special precautions to minimize occupational risk. Because the spread of COVID-19 happened by aerosol and fine droplets, medical staffs are in direct danger of occupational exposure while caring for these patients. The purpose of this article is to review the preoperative preparation and tracheostomy guidelines related to COVID-19 pandemic spread. Copyright © 2021 Korean Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Barriers to Attendance among Patients Scheduled for Appointments at an Academic Ophthalmology Practice

Purpose : No-show appointments may be associated with significant detriments to patient outcome, practice efficiency, and practice financial status. The purpose of this study is to investigate reasons patients failed to attend scheduled appointments at an outpatient ophthalmology clinic at an academic medical center. Methods : The study protocol was reviewed and deemed exempt from further review by the Penn State College of Medicine Institutional Review Board. A scheduling software was used to identify all adult patients who did not attend their scheduled ophthalmology clinic appointments at Penn State Eye Center from 11/9/20 to 12/16/20. Potential subjects were contacted by phone to conduct a brief phone interview. Subjects willing to participate were asked to specify the reason(s) they did not attend their appointment, and to suggest interventions that would help them attend. Descriptive statistical methods were used to describe the reasons for missed appointments and suggested interventions. Results : Of the 325 patients identified, 160 (49.2%) were reached by telephone and participated in the phone survey. The most common reason for non-attendance reported was forgetting the appointment (35.6%), followed by being unaware of appointment (20.6%), scheduling conflict (13.1%), and illness (11.9%). Eighteen patients (11.3%) reported transportation difficulty and two patients (1.3%) reported financial burden. Six patients (3.8%) reported concern for the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for non-attendance. Fifty-seven patients suggested potential interventions that would help them attend their visits, with the most common being the provision of a reminder (49.1%), followed by providing aid with transportation (15.8%) and sending multiple modalities of reminders (14.0%). Conclusions : In this study conducted at an outpatient ophthalmology clinic at an academic center, the most common reasons for non-attendance were patients forgetting about the appointment and being unaware of the appointment. This finding is supported by the interventions suggested by the patients, which consisted primarily of providing appointment reminders. Patients also noted difficulty with transportation and suggested assistance with transportation to the clinic. These findings may facilitate the development and implementation of specific interventions to decrease the patient no-show rate.