Case Methods in Civil Engineering Teaching

English: There have been significant changes in undergraduate civil engineering curricula in the last two decades. Key issues for university curriculum committees are selection and transference of appropriate skills and attributes for students to succeed in the industry. Despite significant changes occurring in teaching theories, civil engineering education still relies heavily on deductive instruction. Case-based teaching is one of the most widespread forms of inductive learning and this paper describes the differences between two of the most familiar types: \u27case-histories\u27 and \u27case-studies\u27. These methods are presented using the Kansas City Hyatt Regency walkway collapse as an exemplar. The benefits of using this approach are improved retention of knowledge, better reasoning and analytical skills, development of higher-order skills, greater ability to identify relevant issues and recognize multiple perspectives, higher motivation and awareness of non-technical issues. Many of these outcomes are part of the expected attributes of civil engineers outlined by professional bodies. French: Les programmes d\u27enseignement de premier cycle en génie civil ont subi de grands changements au cours des deux dernières décennies. Les questions clés pour les comités de programmes universitaires sont la sélection et le transfert des connaissances et des qualités appropriées aux étudiants pour qu\u27ils réussissent dans l\u27industrie. Malgré des changements importants dans les théories d\u27enseignement, l\u27éducation en génie civil est encore grandement fondée sur l\u27apprentissage déductif. L\u27enseignement basé sur des cas est l\u27une des formes les plus étendues de l\u27apprentissage inductif et le présent article décrit les différences entre les deux types les plus familiers : l\u27étude des dossiers individuels et la méthode des cas. Ces méthodes sont présentées en utilisant l\u27exemple de l\u27effondrement de la passerelle du Hyatt Regency de Kansas City. Les avantages d\u27utiliser cette approche sont une rétention améliorée des connaissances, de meilleures capacités analytiques et de raisonnement, le développement de capacités d\u27ordre supérieur, une meilleure capacité à identifier les questions pertinentes et à reconnaître les multiples points de vue, une meilleure motivation et une sensibilisation aux questions non techniques. Plusieurs de ces résultats font partie des qualités escomptées chez les ingénieurs civils, tels que soulignées par les corps professionnels

Estrogen and COVID-19 symptoms: Associations in women from the COVID Symptom Study

It has been widely observed that adult men of all ages are at higher risk of developing serious complications from COVID-19 when compared with women. This study aimed to investigate the association of COVID-19 positivity and severity with estrogen exposure in women, in a population based matched cohort study of female users of the COVID Symptom Study application in the UK. Analyses included 152,637 women for menopausal status, 295,689 women for exogenous estrogen intake in the form of the combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), and 151,193 menopausal women for hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Data were collected using the COVID Symptom Study in May-June 2020. Analyses investigated associations between predicted or tested COVID-19 status and menopausal status, COCP use, and HRT use, adjusting for age, smoking and BMI, with follow-up age sensitivity analysis, and validation in a subset of participants from the TwinsUK cohort. Menopausal women had higher rates of predicted COVID-19 (P = 0.003). COCP-users had lower rates of predicted COVID-19 (P = 8.03E-05), with reduction in hospital attendance (P = 0.023). Menopausal women using HRT or hormonal therapies did not exhibit consistent associations, including increased rates of predicted COVID-19 (P = 2.22E-05) for HRT users alone. The findings support a protective effect of estrogen exposure on COVID-19, based on positive association between predicted COVID-19 with menopausal status, and negative association with COCP use. HRT use was positively associated with COVID-19, but the results should be considered with caution due to lack of data on HRT type, route of administration, duration of treatment, and potential unaccounted for confounders and comorbidities

Case Methods in Civil Engineering Teaching

English: There have been significant changes in undergraduate civil engineering curricula in the last two decades. Key issues for university curriculum committees are selection and transference of appropriate skills and attributes for students to succeed in the industry. Despite significant changes occurring in teaching theories, civil engineering education still relies heavily on deductive instruction. Case-based teaching is one of the most widespread forms of inductive learning and this paper describes the differences between two of the most familiar types: \u27case-histories\u27 and \u27case-studies\u27. These methods are presented using the Kansas City Hyatt Regency walkway collapse as an exemplar. The benefits of using this approach are improved retention of knowledge, better reasoning and analytical skills, development of higher-order skills, greater ability to identify relevant issues and recognize multiple perspectives, higher motivation and awareness of non-technical issues. Many of these outcomes are part of the expected attributes of civil engineers outlined by professional bodies. French: Les programmes d\u27enseignement de premier cycle en génie civil ont subi de grands changements au cours des deux dernières décennies. Les questions clés pour les comités de programmes universitaires sont la sélection et le transfert des connaissances et des qualités appropriées aux étudiants pour qu\u27ils réussissent dans l\u27industrie. Malgré des changements importants dans les théories d\u27enseignement, l\u27éducation en génie civil est encore grandement fondée sur l\u27apprentissage déductif. L\u27enseignement basé sur des cas est l\u27une des formes les plus étendues de l\u27apprentissage inductif et le présent article décrit les différences entre les deux types les plus familiers : l\u27étude des dossiers individuels et la méthode des cas. Ces méthodes sont présentées en utilisant l\u27exemple de l\u27effondrement de la passerelle du Hyatt Regency de Kansas City. Les avantages d\u27utiliser cette approche sont une rétention améliorée des connaissances, de meilleures capacités analytiques et de raisonnement, le développement de capacités d\u27ordre supérieur, une meilleure capacité à identifier les questions pertinentes et à reconnaître les multiples points de vue, une meilleure motivation et une sensibilisation aux questions non techniques. Plusieurs de ces résultats font partie des qualités escomptées chez les ingénieurs civils, tels que soulignées par les corps professionnels

Process-based principles for restoring river ecosystems

Process-based restoration aims to reestablish normative rates and magnitudes of physical, chemical, and biological processes that sustain river and floodplain ecosystems. Ecosystem conditions at any site are governed by hierarchical regional, watershed, and reach-scale processes controlling hydrologic and sediment regimes; floodplain and aquatic habitat dynamics; and riparian and aquatic biota. We outline and illustrate four process-based principles that ensure river restoration will be guided toward sustainable actions: (1) restoration actions should address the root causes of degradation, (2) actions must be consistent with the physical and biological potential of the site, (3) actions should be at a scale commensurate with environmental problems, and (4) actions should have clearly articulated expected outcomes for ecosystem dynamics. Applying these principles will help avoid common pitfalls in river restoration, such as creating habitat types that are outside of a site's natural potential, attempting to build static habitats in dynamic environments, or constructing habitat features that are ultimately overwhelmed by unconsidered system drivers

Silica nanowires for UV light generation and sensing

Because of the strong confinement and large refractive index contrast, silica nanowires can efficiently generate light in the UV through intermodal phase matching. Similarly, the fraction of power in the evanescent field allows for many applications in sensing