Demographic characteristics of the COVID-19 vaccine trial participant population, mortality population, and individuals fully vaccinated in the United States: A comparative analysis

The purpose of this study was to compare the demographic variables of three populations, COVID-19 vaccine trial participants, COVID-19 deaths, and individuals vaccinated for COVID-19, to determine if the trial participants were appropriately representative. Demographic data (age, sex, race and ethnicity, and presence of comorbidities) were collected from publicly available datasets, organized, and compared. The demographic characteristics of the vaccine clinical trials participants were comparable to those who died due to COVID-19, but less comparable to those who were the first to receive a COVID-19 emergency-use-authorized vaccine

Technical Provocations: Material Inventions, Structural Assemblies, and Environmental Responses as Precursors and Design Prompts

The purpose of the study is to develop a studio course that is a precursor to the integrative studio in the University of Florida Master of Architecture curriculum. The studio course introduces each building technology discipline as design concept generators and the course intends to prepare students not to think of building technologies in only practical terms but to integrate a conceptual thinking regarding building technologies in their design work. Our primary goal is for the students to discover poetic approaches for working with building technologies before they need to integrate all disciplines simultaneously in their design work. The studio tests three projects in a 16-week semester: one project generated from materials and construction methods, a second rooted in structural principles at multiple scales, and the third centered on environmental strategies for extreme climates. In the first project, the students were challenged with the connecting their speculative proposals with built reality. In the third project, they had to address places and conditions that are beyond their own experience. In all three projects, we found that the majority of students struggled with the application of building technology principles in their design process. There was a disconnect between practicalities and conceptual thinking. In our analysis, this indicates that building technologies may not be most effective when they are separate studies isolated from studio design

The Aloha State: Saying Hello & Goodbye to the Hawaiian Islands

In Hawaiian, aloha means both hello and goodbye. So, if someone says aloha to you, how do you know what he/she is saying? Join Dr. Melody Miyamoto Walters and Dr. Lisa Kirby for Passport to the World to find out. Hear a local Hawaiian introduce visitors to Hawaii, and then listento the experiences of a Texan who recently visited several of the islands

ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES OF EUROPEAN WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE

In this article, we analyze the measures against pollution in river basins that follow the European Water Framework Directive (European Commission, 2000) and propose a methodology for assessing their economic effectiveness. Compared to other similar studies (Berbel et al., 2018), the presented methodology has been developed and tested in rivers where water pollution is a result of mining activities. In terms of economic theory, the methodology can be summarized as follows: The cost-effectiveness analysis used to select the optimal mix of costs is integrated into the cost-benefit analysis to assess the cost-effectiveness of the proposed measures. The methodology has been tested on a case study of the East Aegean Region and recommendations for the region have been made for the next five-year period of the Directive

Validating Human Performance Models of the Future Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle

NASA's Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) will provide transportation for crew and cargo to and from destinations in support of the Constellation Architecture Design Reference Missions. Discrete Event Simulation (DES) is one of the design methods NASA employs for crew performance of the CEV. During the early development of the CEV, NASA and its prime Orion contractor Lockheed Martin (LM) strived to seek an effective low-cost method for developing and validating human performance DES models. This paper focuses on the method developed while creating a DES model for the CEV Rendezvous, Proximity Operations, and Docking (RPOD) task to the International Space Station. Our approach to validation was to attack the problem from several fronts. First, we began the development of the model early in the CEV design stage. Second, we adhered strictly to M&S development standards. Third, we involved the stakeholders, NASA astronauts, subject matter experts, and NASA's modeling and simulation development community throughout. Fourth, we applied standard and easy-to-conduct methods to ensure the model's accuracy. Lastly, we reviewed the data from an earlier human-in-the-loop RPOD simulation that had different objectives, which provided us an additional means to estimate the model's confidence level. The results revealed that a majority of the DES model was a reasonable representation of the current CEV design

Staying Safe in a Tornado: A Qualitative Inquiry into Public Knowledge, Access, and Response to Tornado Warnings

Tornadoes in the southeastern United States continue to cause substantial injury, death, and destruction. The present study seeks to 1) understand inadequate warning access, less understanding, and/or less likelihood of responding to tornado warnings; 2) examine public attitudes about NWS communications; and 3) explore the perceptions of NWS personnel regarding public response to tornado warnings, factors that might influence response, and how their perceptions impact their communication. Participants include a purposive sample of NWS forecasters in Tennessee (n = 11) and residents (n = 45) who were identified as having low access to, low knowledge of, or an unsafe response to tornado warnings in a previous study. A qualitative approach with semistructured interviews was used. Findings indicated that most participants had at least one warning source. Barriers to warning access included electricity outages, rurality, lack of storm radio, heavy sleeping, and hearing impairments. Most participants had knowledge of NWS guidelines for safe shelter seeking but still engaged in behaviors considered unsafe. Proximity, personal experience, and influence of family and friends emerged as influencers of response to warnings. NWS personnel perceived that proximity played a significant role in shelter-seeking behavior as well as the need for confirmation. Poor access to safe shelter arose as a major concern for NWS personnel, specifically mobile home residents. Messaging and specificity in warnings to evoke safe shelter-seeking behavior surfaced as critical issues for NWS personnel. Implications for education and policy changes to enhance public safety and improve public health are noted

Examing Patterns of Intended Response to Tornado Warnings Among Residents of Tennessee, United States, Through a Latent Class Analysis Approach

In the past five years, the southern region of the United States has had a large number of fatal tornadoes. Previous research indicates that residents of this area may not be taking appropriate shelter. The present study uses a random sample of Tennessee residents (N = 1126) and the latent class analysis (LCA) technique to explore discrete types of responders according to their pattern of intended behaviors when presented with a tornado warning scenario in the daytime or nighttime. LCA revealed three distinct groups in the day subsample – Tech Users, Typical Actors, and Passive Reactors – and three in the night subsample – Tech Users, Typical Actors, and Non-Reactors. Being a Tech User or Typical Actor was positively associated with intending to seek safe shelter, although being a Passive Reactor or Non-Reactor was not. Further, Tech Users/Typical Actors were seeking and obtaining more warning information from other sources compared to Passive Reactors/Non-Reactors. While few demographic variables were associated with class assignment, bivariate and multivariate analyses illustrated that cognitive factors, such as previous experience with tornadoes and perceived accuracy of warnings, are significantly associated with class membership when controlling for non-cognitive factors. The distinctions made within and between the subsamples can support the National Weather Service\u27s efforts to better target the public with future messages about tornado safety as well as guide researchers on future studies

Acute Aortic Dissection in Third Trimester Pregnancy without Risk Factors

Spontaneous aortic dissection in pregnancy is rare and life threatening for both the mother and the fetus. Most commonly, it is associated with connective tissue disorders, cardiac valve variants, or trauma. We present the case of a 23-year-old previously healthy woman, 36 weeks pregnant with a syncopal episode after dyspnea and vomiting. She subsequently developed cardiac arrest and underwent aggressive resuscitation, emergent thoracotomy, and cesarean delivery without recovery. On autopsy, she was found to have an aortic dissection of the ascending aorta. This case is presented to raise awareness and review the literature and the clinical approach to critical care for pregnant patients

Effects of Equine Interaction on Mutual Autonomic Nervous System Responses and Interoception in a Learning Program for Older Adults

Equine-assisted learning (EAL) may improve the health of older adults, but scientific data are sparse. This study investigated whether people aged 55 and older show increased heart rate variability (HRV) during EAL and awareness of bodily sensations that are overall pleasant. Subjects (n = 24) participated in mindful grooming during which they slowed their breathing and brushed a horse while noticing sensations in their body and watching the horse’s reactions. The subject’s and horse’s HRV were recorded simultaneously before, during, and after mindful grooming. For control, the same subjects performed mindful grooming with a plush simulation horse. During exit interviews, participants described their sensations. Words and gestures were categorized as positive, neutral, or negative. During mindful grooming, human heart rate and HRV (standard deviation of interbeat interval, SDRR) increased compared to baseline (paired t-test, t = –4.228, p \u3c 0.001; t = –3.814, p = 0.001), as did the percent very low frequency (%VLF) component of HRV (t = –4.274, p \u3c 0.001). Equine HRV values remained in the normal range, mostly VLF. In 10 cases, during mindful grooming, horse and human HRVs showed matching VLF frequencies. Grooming the simulation horse significantly elevated SDRR but did not alter %VLF. Exit interviews revealed significantly more positive gestures (t = –3.814, p = 0.031) and fewer negative gestures (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Z-statistic = –2.12, p = 0.036, p \u3c 0.05) when participants spoke about the real horse compared to the simulation. These findings demonstrate that during mindful grooming people aged 55 and older benefit by experiencing increased HRV, heightened awareness of pleasant bodily sensations, and often some synchronization of their HRV frequency spectrum with that of their horse, possibly reflecting emotional bonding