The Visual and Thermal Impact of Skylight Design on the Interior Space of an Educational Building in a Hot Climate

Skylights have been among the important devices in architecture for providing sufficient daylight in an interior space. The design of a skylight, in terms of shape, orientation, and glazing specification has a great visual and thermal impact on any internal space, and thus on the choice for its optimum design. This study evaluates the daylight factor, glare and cooling loads for different designs of skylight and compares them with one another to select the best design among them. In addition to the base skylight-free case, twelve cases, categorized into three groups, were analyzed and compared. The groups, named A, B, and C, have sets of fixed parameters that differ from one group to another. The cases in Group A showed a sharp increment in cooling loads, which became significantly higher than the other two groups had, although the lighting levels were not necessarily so. Groups B and C showed varying increments in lighting levels, while the cooling loads were relatively close. Case B-4 was considered the best among the twelve studied cases

Assessing the Moderating Effect of Innovation on the Relationship between Information Technology and Supply Chain Management: An Empirical Examination

This study examines how innovation (INN) influences the relationship between supply chain management and information technology in Jordan. 211 employees of Jordanian industrial enterprises who work in the Operations Department provided information for the study, which examines this subject. The findings indicate a close connection between information technology and supply chain management. Innovation also dramatically modifies the interaction between supply chain management and information technology. Management help may be the subject of future research

State-of-the-art technologies for building-integrated photovoltaic systems

Advances in building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems for residential and commercial purposes are set to minimize overall energy requirements and associated greenhouse gas emissions. The BIPV design considerations entail energy infrastructure, pertinent renewable energy sources, and energy efficiency provisions. In this work, the performance of roof/façade-based BIPV systems and the affecting parameters on cooling/heating loads of buildings are reviewed. Moreover, this work provides an overview of different categories of BIPV, presenting the recent developments and sufficient references, and supporting more successful implementations of BIPV for various globe zones. A number of available technologies decide the best selections, and make easy configuration of the BIPV, avoiding any difficulties, and allowing flexibility of design in order to adapt to local environmental conditions, and are adequate to important considerations, such as building codes, building structures and loads, architectural components, replacement and maintenance, energy resources, and all associated expenditure. The passive and active effects of both air-based and water-based BIPV systems have great effects on the cooling and heating loads and thermal comfort and, hence, on the electricity consumption

Variations in the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across 5 continents: A cross-sectional, individual level analysis.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has caused profound socio-economic changes worldwide. However, internationally comparative data regarding the financial impact on individuals is sparse. Therefore, we conducted a survey of the financial impact of the pandemic on individuals, using an international cohort that has been well-characterized prior to the pandemic. METHODS: Between August 2020 and September 2021, we surveyed 24,506 community-dwelling participants from the Prospective Urban-Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study across high (HIC), upper middle (UMIC)-and lower middle (LMIC)-income countries. We collected information regarding the impact of the pandemic on their self-reported personal finances and sources of income. FINDINGS: Overall, 32.4% of participants had suffered an adverse financial impact, defined as job loss, inability to meet financial obligations or essential needs, or using savings to meet financial obligations. 8.4% of participants had lost a job (temporarily or permanently); 14.6% of participants were unable to meet financial obligations or essential needs at the time of the survey and 16.3% were using their savings to meet financial obligations. Participants with a post-secondary education were least likely to be adversely impacted (19.6%), compared with 33.4% of those with secondary education and 33.5% of those with pre-secondary education. Similarly, those in the highest wealth tertile were least likely to be financially impacted (26.7%), compared with 32.5% in the middle tertile and 30.4% in the bottom tertile participants. Compared with HICs, financial impact was greater in UMIC [odds ratio of 2.09 (1.88-2.33)] and greatest in LMIC [odds ratio of 16.88 (14.69-19.39)]. HIC participants with the lowest educational attainment suffered less financial impact (15.1% of participants affected) than those with the highest education in UMIC (22.0% of participants affected). Similarly, participants with the lowest education in UMIC experienced less financial impact (28.3%) than those with the highest education in LMIC (45.9%). A similar gradient was seen across country income categories when compared by pre-pandemic wealth status. INTERPRETATION: The financial impact of the pandemic differs more between HIC, UMIC, and LMIC than between socio-economic categories within a country income level. The most disadvantaged socio-economic subgroups in HIC had a lower financial impact from the pandemic than the most advantaged subgroup in UMIC, with a similar disparity seen between UMIC and LMIC. Continued high levels of infection will exacerbate financial inequity between countries and hinder progress towards the sustainable development goals, emphasising the importance of effective measures to control COVID-19 and, especially, ensuring high vaccine coverage in all countries. FUNDING: Funding for this study was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the International Development Research Centre

Household, community, sub-national and country-level predictors of primary cooking fuel switching in nine countries from the PURE study

Introduction. Switchingfrom polluting (e.g. wood, crop waste, coal)to clean (e.g. gas, electricity) cooking fuels can reduce household air pollution exposures and climate-forcing emissions.While studies have evaluated specific interventions and assessed fuel-switching in repeated cross-sectional surveys, the role of different multilevel factors in household fuel switching, outside of interventions and across diverse community settings, is not well understood. Methods.We examined longitudinal survey data from 24 172 households in 177 rural communities across nine countries within the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology study.We assessed household-level primary cooking fuel switching during a median of 10 years offollow up (∼2005–2015).We used hierarchical logistic regression models to examine the relative importance of household, community, sub-national and national-level factors contributing to primary fuel switching. Results. One-half of study households(12 369)reported changing their primary cookingfuels between baseline andfollow up surveys. Of these, 61% (7582) switchedfrom polluting (wood, dung, agricultural waste, charcoal, coal, kerosene)to clean (gas, electricity)fuels, 26% (3109)switched between different polluting fuels, 10% (1164)switched from clean to polluting fuels and 3% (522)switched between different clean fuels

Quantification of Recharge and Runoff from Rainfall Using New GIS Tool: Example of the Gaza Strip Aquifer

The Gaza Strip forms a transition zone between the semi-humid coastal zone in the north, the semi-arid zone in the east, and the Sinai desert in the south. Groundwater is the only water source for 1.94 million inhabitants, where the only fresh replenishment water for the aquifer comes from rainfall. This study focuses on testing a newly developed GIS tool to estimate the spatial and temporal distribution of runoff and recharge from rainfall. The estimation of surface runoff was made using the Soil Conservation Services Curve Number Method, while groundwater recharge was estimated using Thornthwaite and Mather’s Soil Moisture Balance approach. The new tool was applied to the Gaza aquifer for the year 1935 and for the period from 1973 to 2016. A comparison was made between the results obtained with the developed GIS tool and the frequently used Thiessen polygon method for rainfall distribution. Runoff and recharge were estimated for the year 1935 (prior to development) to compare with the current developed conditions. It was found that the built-up and sand dune areas stand in an inverse relationship, where the former is replacing the latter (built-up area expanded from 30.1 km2 in 1982 to 92.1 km2 in 2010). Recharge takes place in the sand dune area, whereas runoff increases in the built-up area. Due to development, runoff almost tripled from 9 million m3 in 1982 to 22.9 million m3 in 2010, while groundwater recharge was reduced from 27.3 million m3 in 1982 to 23 million m3 in 2010, even though the rainfall increased between 1982 and 2010 by 11%. Comparison between the newly developed GIS tool and the Thiessen polygon-based estimation shows that the former leads to higher values of runoff and recharge for dry years

Assessment of food safety knowledge, self-reported practices, and microbiological hand hygiene levels of produce handlers in Qatar

Food handling across the custody chain from production to consumption is one of the most important stages in which microbes can enter food from infected food handlers or due to cross-contamination. The wholesale produce market (WSPM), located in Doha, Qatar, is a good example of a custody chain in which a large amount of produce from different origins are purchased daily by restaurants, retailers, and individuals. However, no information is available on the food handling practices applied at the WSPM. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the self-reported hygiene practices and food safety knowledge of produce handlers at the WSPM as a baseline for food safety outreach. One hundred twenty produce handlers participated in this study to complete a structured questionnaire assessing food safety knowledge and hygiene practices. In addition, survey respondents' hands were swabbed to determine microbiological hand hygiene levels. Survey results revealed that none of the produce handlers had food safety knowledge or received training on safe produce handling practices. The median age group was 31 to 40 years, and over 57% had less than high school education. The level of self-reported knowledge on “food safety practices” displayed by produce handlers was not influenced by demographically based differences (e.g., age and years of experience), except education level. Note that 77% of produce handlers claimed to wash their hands four times per day; however, this good self-reported practice was not reflected in the microbial assessment of produce handlers' hands that had total aerobic and coliform counts ≥2 log CFU/cm2. Bacillus circulans (40%), Staphylococcus sciuri (25%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (17%) were the most common bacteria isolated from produce handlers' hands. These findings may help public health agencies in Qatar establish guidelines for compulsory on-site training for produce handlers to improve knowledge on safe produce handling.This study was supported by a Graduate Sponsorship Research Award (GSRA) grant (GSRA2-1-0615-14038) from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation) and Qatar University Student Grant (QUST-CAS-SPR-2017-12). The findings achieved herein are solely the responsibility of the author(s). We thank the Microbiology Laboratory at Sidra Medicine and Center for Sustainable Development Laboratory at Qatar University for technical support.Scopu

Application of MALDI Biotyper System for Rapid Identification of Bacteria Isolated from a Fresh Produce Market

MALDI-TOF MS has revolutionized the identification of microorganisms and has become an indispensable part of routine diagnostics in the clinical microbiological laboratory. However, application of this technique in microbial surveillance outside of clinical settings is limited. In this study, we have evaluated the performance of a Bruker MALDI Biotyper System for the identification of bacteria isolated from the hand palms of fresh produce handlers and their surrounding environments in a wholesale fresh produce market in Doha, Qatar. The accuracy was verified against the results obtained by bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A total of 105 isolates were tested, of which 67 (64%) isolates were identified by MALDI-TOF MS and 101 isolates (96%) were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, either at the genus level or species level. However, MALDI-TOF MS identified more isolates (41%) at the species level than 16S rRNA gene sequencing (28%). MALDI-TOF MS was particularly useful in the species level identification of Enterobacteriaceae. MALDI-TOF MS successfully identified most known human pathogens in a rapid and cost-effective manner but failed to identify a significant number of isolates that were of environmental origin, suggesting room for further expansion of the reference database.This study was partly supported by a GSRA Grant # (GSRA2-1-0615-14038) from the Qatar National Research FundScopu