THE FORMULATION OF A BUILDING THERMAL DESIGN OPTIMIZATION MODEL

Building design is a decision making process where decisions are made on the selection of certain design variables in order to achieve certain objectives (i.e. economy, thermal comfort, visual comfort, aesthetics, etc.). Information on the relationships between the variables and the desired objectives are necessary for proper decision making. Architects have traditionally reached their design decisions based on past experience. However, total reliance upon individual experience may lead to incomplete and inaccurate results. Therefore, given today's complexities in building design as well as advances in computer technology, systematic approaches can be used as an aid to, not a replacement for, building designers in the decision making process. The aim of this paper is to describe the formulation of an optimization model for the thermal design of building envelopes. This requires defining building design variables, a criterion of optimality, constraints, and a suitable thermal simulation model that can be integrated into the proper optimization technique

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

THE FORMULATION OF A BUILDING THERMAL DESIGN OPTIMIZATION MODEL

Building design is a decision making process where decisions are made on the selection of certain design variables in order to achieve certain objectives (i.e. economy, thermal comfort, visual comfort, aesthetics, etc.). Information on the relationships between the variables and the desired objectives are necessary for proper decision making. Architects have traditionally reached their design decisions based on past experience. However, total reliance upon individual experience may lead to incomplete and inaccurate results. Therefore, given today's complexities in building design as well as advances in computer technology, systematic approaches can be used as an aid to, not a replacement for, building designers in the decision making process. The aim of this paper is to describe the formulation of an optimization model for the thermal design of building envelopes. This requires defining building design variables, a criterion of optimality, constraints, and a suitable thermal simulation model that can be integrated into the proper optimization technique