COVID-19 Delta Variant: Perceptions, Worries, and Vaccine-Booster Acceptability among Healthcare Workers

Background: As the COVID-19 Delta variant has spread across the globe, healthcare workers’ (HCWs) knowledge, worries, and vaccine booster acceptance should be assessed. Methods: Online questionnaires aimed at HCWs in Saudi Arabia were distributed between 9 and 12 August 2021, aiming to evaluate HCWs’ perceptions and worries about the Delta variant as well as their feelings about receiving a booster-vaccine. Results: A total of 1279 HCWs participated, with 51.1% being physicians and 41.7% nurses. 92.5% were aware of the emergence of the Delta variant. Still, only 28.7% were found to have sufficient knowledge of the variant, and their level of worry about it was higher than their level of worry about the Alpha variant (2.32/5 versus 1.79/5). The main information sources cited by the participants were social media (50.5%), while 30.5% used scientific journals. Overall, 55.3% were willing to receive a vaccine booster, while one third would have preferred to receive a new mRNA vaccine specifically developed for the Delta variant. Factors associated with vaccine booster acceptance were receiving both vaccination doses (p = 0.008), believing that the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine is effective against variants (p < 0.001), and agreement that mixing/matching vaccines is effective against variants (p < 0.001). Conclusions: A high percentage of HCWs were aware of the Delta variant, but only a small fraction had decent quality of knowledge about it. The participants exhibited high worry levels and showed a modest acceptance of receiving a vaccine booster dose. These results should encourage public health officials to scale up educational efforts to disseminate reliable information about the different variants and provide recommendations about receiving a vaccine booster. Further research on methods to alleviate HCWs’ worries about emerging variants is warranted

Structural and Foundation Design of Pump and Reservoir Facilities in the Bogus Basin Service Area

United Water Idaho has identified two facilities in the Bogus Basin Service Area (BBSA) that need replacement, the Bogus Basin Reservoir (BBR) and the Good Street Booster Pump Station (GSBPS). The BBR and GSBPS are near the end of their design life and need to be redesigned per the new demand for the area. The BBR supplies the residential and irrigation water demand for the area, and the GSBPS supplies the fire suppression water for the area, both of which have increased in demand. Element Engineering and Alpha Engineering Associates are tasked with the redesign of these facilities to meet the new demands for the BBSA. Element Engineering will determine the BBR volume necessary to supply the residential and irrigation water demands, as well as the required number and size of pump(s) to supply the fire suppression water demands which will be housed in the GSBPS. Based on Element Engineering’s results, Alpha Engineering will determine the structural and foundation design for the BBR and the GSBPS. The BBR will consist of a cylindrical cast-in-place concrete tank with a ring foundation to support the concrete walls and mat foundation to support the bottom of the tank. The GSBPS structure will utilize masonry materials, while the foundation will include strip footings for the structure and spread footings for the pump(s)

Design and Additive Manufacturing of Bio-Inspired Copper Heat Sinks for Microelectronics Cooling

The heat sink is a key component in thermal management of microelectronics and is traditionally designed with arrays of pins or fins. In this work, a bio-inspired approach to designing heat sinks was evaluated. A process was first developed on a 100W Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) system for the copper alloy CuNi2SiCr, which was found to have a tenfold deficit in thermal conductivity relative to commercially pure Copper. This process was then used to fabricate four heat sinks: two replicates of commercial heat sink designs, and two leveraging bio-inspired design approaches with the aim of increasing the available surface area per unit volume. The four designs were tested on a microelectronics package placed on a hot plate and their performance compared against commercially available heat sinks. The results demonstrated that despite their poor thermal conductivity, the bio-inspired heat sinks had equivalent performance to the commercial heat sinks.Mechanical Engineerin

Prevalence, risk factors and character of abdominal hernia in Arar City, Northern Saudi Arabia in 2017

Background: Abdominal wall hernias are a very common surgical condition affecting all ages and both sexes. The main risk factors of hernias include pregnancy, weight lifting, constipation, and weight gain. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of abdominal hernias, their causes, treatment and complications among both sexes of the Arar population (Saudi Arabia). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,567 adults living in Arar city in 2017. Data was collected by personal interview via questionnaire translated into Arabic, and general and local examination. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 16, using descriptive statistics and Chi Square test. Results: The overall prevalence of abdominal hernias was 11.7%, hernias were more prevalent in females than in males (63.4% vs. 36.6%), the most common cases were para-umbilical 33.9%, inguinal 27.3%, and umbilical in 20.8% of the cases, 51.9% were obese, 53.6% had previous abdominal surgery, 19.1% had previous abdominal trauma, 28.4% had positive family history of hernia and 39.9% were grand multipara. Hernias were significantly affected by sex, obesity, previous abdominal surgery, previous abdominal trauma, positive family history of hernias and being grand multipara (p<0.05). Treatment of hernias was surgical in 47.5% and conservative in 47.0%, complications occurred in 20.2% and 25.1% were recurrent after treatment. Conclusion: Abdominal wall hernias are a common clinical presentation in Arar, KSA. Abdominal hernias are more common in women than men, there is an obvious relationship between obesity and hernias. Early diagnosis, easily accessible health facilities and health education are important to prevent complications. New modality of treatment should be adopted as the standard choice of care to prevent recurrence

Healthcare Workers&rsquo; SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Uncertainty-Related Stress, Resilience, and Coping Strategies during the First Week of the World Health Organization&rsquo;s Alert

Background: As the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged and spread globally at an alarming speed, healthcare workers&rsquo; (HCWs) uncertainties, worries, resilience, and coping strategies warranted assessment. The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe psychological impact on HCWs, including the development of Post-Traumatic Stress symptoms. Specific subgroups of HCWs, such as front-line and female workers, were more prone to poor mental health outcomes and difficulties facing stress. Methods: The responses to an online questionnaire among HCWs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) were collected from 1 December 2021 to 6 December 2021, aiming to assess their uncertainties, worries, resilience, and coping strategies regarding the Omicron variant. Three validated instruments were used to achieve the study&rsquo;s goals: the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS), the Standard Stress Scale (SSS), and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS)&mdash;Short Form. Results: The online survey was completed by 1285 HCWs. Females made up the majority of the participants (64%). A total of 1285 HCW&rsquo;s completed the online survey from all regions in KSA. Resilient coping scored by the BRCS was negatively and significantly correlated with stress as scored by the SSS (r = &minus;0.313, p &lt; 0.010). Moreover, intolerance of uncertainty scored by the IUS positively and significantly correlated with stress (r = 0.326, p &lt; 0.010). Increased stress levels were linked to a considerable drop in resilient coping scores. Furthermore, being a Saudi HCW or a nurse was linked to a significant reduction in resilient coping ratings. Coping by following healthcare authorities&rsquo; preventative instructions and using the WHO website as a source of information was linked to a considerable rise in resilient coping. Conclusions: The negative association between resilient coping and stress was clearly shown, as well as how underlying intolerance of uncertainty is linked to higher stress among HCWs quickly following the development of a new infectious threat. The study provides early insights into developing and promoting coping strategies for emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants