Headaches Associated with N95 Mask Usage amongst Healthcare Workers in Operating Theatres during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: N95 respirator masks are a cornerstone in the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, its use has side effects such as headaches. The primary aim of this study is to identify factors that may contribute to higher occurrences of headaches with wearing N95 masks. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted across healthcare providers in operating theatres of a tertiary hospital based in Singapore involved in the care of COVID-19 patients. The study involved a self-administered online questionnaire completed by all participants. Results: 176 participants were included into the study, of which 65 (36.9%) reported headaches associated with wearing N95 masks. Out of the 65 participants who experienced headaches, 28 (43.1%) reported experiencing “mild” headache, 30 (46.2%) reported experiencing “moderate” headache, and 7 (10.7%) reported experiencing “severe” headache. 44 participants (67.7%) reported that the headache has affected their work, and 20 participants (30.8%) required analgesia to relieve the headaches. Other symptoms associated with N95 mask usage include skin damage (12.3%), breathlessness (15.4%), giddiness (6.2%), nausea (6.2%) and ear pain (3.1%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that participants younger than 32 years old (p = 0.001) and history of pre-existing headache disorders (p = 0.001) were associated with higher occurrences of headaches with wearing N95 masks. Conclusion: Our study showed that younger age and history of pre-existing headache disorders contribute to higher occurrences of headaches with N95 mask usage. These associations could be useful in identifying at-risk individuals so that precautions may be taken to reduce the occurrence of headaches when wearing N95 masks.

基于ARCS动机模型的创作性戏剧教学设计应用

表演作为播音与主持艺术专业核心课程,在教学计划和人才培养体系中占据重要位置。鉴于目前学生表演基础差、缺乏专业教师团队、教学内容设计不合理、课程评价体系单一等教学痛点,基于ARCS动机模型教学设计思路,我们引入戏剧教育家张晓华的创作性戏剧和Viola Spolin的Theatre Games相结合的教学策略,进行教学方法创新。以理论讲授、热身环节、主题活动、延伸活动紧密结合的阶梯式设计,增添课堂“体验”“扮演”环节,让学生在体验中掌握知识精髓,建立自我概念,形成正确的价值观和认知态度。创新教学评价体系,在过程评价、学生互评中实现对学生个体成长的关注,意在通过教学改革,形成有效教学模式,为表演课程建设提供借鉴参考。

Operating Parameters of the District Heating Substation Cooperating With the Installation of Technological Air Conditioning With High Efficiency of Heat Recovery

The article analyses the problem of determining the operating parameters of the district heating substation cooperating with the air heating system in technological air conditioning systems equipped with heat exchangers with high efficiency of heat recovery.Attention was paid to the correct selection of heat exchangers for the heat output balance depending on the heat recovery protection algorithms against a drop in the temperature of the heat transfer surface below 0℃.Critical parameters were determined in Polish climatic conditions,at which the operation of the heat recovery exchanger in the air conditioning system is switched off or limited.It has been proven that the proper functioning of the district heating substation cooperating with the installation of air conditioning with high heat recovery efficiency requires the use of two heat exchangers with different characteristics,equipped with properly selected temperature control systems.The optimal model of cooperation between the technological air conditioning system and the heating substation was also indicated.

Novel operating theatre scheduling method based on estimation of distribution algorithm

In order to improve the efficiency of operating rooms,reduce the costs for hospitals and improve the level of service qualities, a scheduling method was developed based on an estimation of distribution algorithm（ EDA）. First, a scheduling problem domain is described. Based on assignment constraints and resource capacity constraints, the mathematical programming models are set up with an objective function to minimize the system makespan. On the basis of the descriptions mentioned above, a solution policy of generating feasible scheduling solutions is established. Combined with the specific constraints of operating theatres, the EDA-based algorithm is put forward to solve scheduling problems. Finally, simulation experiments are designed to evaluate the scheduling method. The orthogonal table is chosen to determine the parameters in the proposed method. Then the genetic algorithm and the particle swarm optimization algorithm are chosen for comparison with the EDA-based algorithm, and the results indicate that the proposed method can decrease the makespan of the surgical system regardless of the size of operations. Moreover, the computation time of the EDA-based algorithm is only approximately 5 s when solving the large scale problems, which means that the proposed algorithm is suitable for carrying out an on-line scheduling optimization of the patients.

自然循环蒸汽发生器模块化仿真建模研究

目前对于核电站系统二回路的模块化仿真建模技术已较为成熟,而一回路还未完全实现模块化。利用运行在Sim Exec平台上的THEATRe软件,以秦山一期核电站为仿真对象,建立冷却剂系统仿真模型,进而对模型进行仿真研究,误差可控制在0.5%以内;将主回路中的自然循环蒸汽发生器进行模块化建模,并通过方案优化,采用边界交换的方法将蒸汽发生器模块与系统主回路进行耦合,耦合前后系统运行参数误差不超过1%;通过瞬态提升功率比较模块化模型与环路模型的瞬态特性,最终得出对自然循环蒸汽发生器进行模块化建模仿真方法可行的结论,并由此提出改进方法及其在实际建模仿真中的建议。

Filtered-beam-search-based approach for operating theatre scheduling

To improve the efficiency of operating rooms, reduce the hospital＇ s costs and improve the level of service qualities, a scheduling method is presented based on a filtered-beam-search-based algo- rithm. Firstly, a scheduling problem domain is described. Mathematical programming models are al- so set up with an objective function of minimizing related costs of the system. On the basis of the de= scriptions mentioned above, a solving policy of generating feasible scheduling solutions is estab- lished. Combining with the speeific constraints of operation theatres, a filtered-beam-search-based algorithm is put forward to solve scheduling problems. Finally, simulation experiments are designed. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated and compared with that of other approaches through simulations. Results indicate that the proposed algorithm can reduce costs, and are of prac- ticality and effectiveness.

An Analysis of Language in "Waiting for Godot"

As an important representative of the Theatre of Absurd, in his masterpiece Waiting for Godot, Beckett deserted the traditional dramatic form and adopted a new one that shows us the fragmentary characters and the absurdity of the modern society. This paper demonstrates his artful creation of the language form from the following three aspects: The use of repetition, use of silence and pause and short sentences.

Simulation of the Thermal Environment and Velocity Distribution in a Lecture Hall

The rational design of heating ventilation and air conditioning systems is an important means to achieve energy conservation and sustainable development.The simulation of air-conditioning systems with finite element methods has gradually become an important auxiliary means of complex airspace design.In this paper,a k-εturbulence model is used to conduct 3D simulations and optimize the summer air conditioning system of a lecture hall.Various conditions are considered in terms of fresh air temperature and flow rate towards the end to improve comfort.The approach used in this paper could also be used in the future as an auxiliary model to promote the design of other lecture halls and ladder classrooms.

核电站非能动余热排出系统误开事故仿真研究

针对非能动余热排出系统在安全壳内的布置方式及运行原理,如果非能动余热排出系统(PRHR:pas-sive residual heat removal)在反应堆正常运行时投入,其效果相当于产生堆芯冷水事故,威胁到堆芯的安全.应用Topmeret、THEATRe建模软件对AP1000非能动余热排出系统误开事故进行仿真研究,分析在此事故下堆芯的安全性.结果表明:在非能动余热排出系统误开的事故中,堆芯的压力、温度及燃料表面温度变化均小于安全域值.

Large carotid body tumor successfully resected in hybrid operating theatre: A case report

BACKGROUND Surgical treatment for large carotid body tumor (CBT),particularly the Shamblin III type,is challenging and rarely reported.CASE SUMMARY In July 2014,a 63-year-old woman presented to our hospital with a large CBT (130 mm × 60 mm × 70 mm).The lesion was hypervascular,spanned from the first to the seventh cervical vertebra,and adhered to the right common carotid artery (CCA),internal carotid artery (ICA) and external carotid artery (ECA).The resection was carried out in a hybrid operating theatre.First,we used Onyx gel to embolize the feeding artery.An ICA balloon was used to prevent gel entry into the ICA.After shrinkage and hardening of the CBT,we quickly resected the CBT as well as a part of the ECA that adhered to the CBT.A vascular shunt was inserted between CCA and ICA,and the part where the ICA was cut off from the CCA was directly sutured.A follow-up at four years later showed no neurological damage.CONCLUSION For large hypervascular CBT,embolization of the feeding artery prior to resection is helpful.The hybrid operating theatre is the ideal platform to carry out such operations.

Indoor Air Quality in a Real Operating Theatre under Effective Use Conditions

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of surgical staff on the indoor air quality in a uni-directional ventilation Operating Theatre (OT). Experimental measurements of particles and microclimate were acquired at rest and in operational conditions. The real OT (operational) use was simulated by a sham hip arthroplasty. CFD simulations were carried out outlining the studied environment used for experimental measurement campaign. A standard k-ε closure scheme based on RANS equations was implemented to solve the velocity and pressure field using an eddy viscosity approach. Temperature and relative humidity distributions were also computed keeping into account sensible and latent heat sources inside the OT. An Euler-based approach was applied to solve the concentration fields of gaseous contaminant and small particles (up to 5 μm in diameter) in the indoor air. An innovative strategy is proposed to estimate, by an iterative comparison between experimental data and numerical results, the emission rate of particles (differentiated by diameters) released by the occupants to be considered as source terms in the numerical model. Compliance with literature evidence concerning thermal and velocity fields and CO2 concentration was confirmed. From our analyses, some IAQ indexes were deduced, allowing monitoring of the local and overall OT air quality level supplied by the ventilating system during real operational conditions. The highest values of microbial air contamination were recorded during surgical activity;nevertheless, results showed the suitability of the ventilation system in providing the expected air quality.

Aesthetic Processing for Theatre Translation

Theatre translation is one of the most neglected areas in the field of translation.Theatre is a special member of the literature family in that it doubles as a branch of the performing art.It follows that the aesthetic constitutions of a dramatic creation is a complex problem. It is the translator's duty to grasp the artistic features of the literary creation and reproduce them in the version since the most important thing in a piece of literature is its artistic features.

Operating room black box:Scrutinizer of theatre practices

Objective:Adverse surgical events are a major cause of morbidity,mortality,and disability worldw ide.The cause of many such events can be attributed to interruptions in the operating room(OR),muli-tasking by surgeons,etc.The objective of this study was to observe the types and frequency of intra-operative wor kflow interruptions in our ORs.Method:This ccoss-sectional study was conducted from March Do April of 2023.An observational approach using an audio-video recording device was employed to record OR flow disr uptions.One elective OR and one emergency OR under the Department of General Surgery were selected for the study.All open and laparoscopic surger ies conducted in the selected ORs were included.An Internet Protocol camera'was installed in the selec ted ORS with a view of the entire room,including the anesthesia station.Audio-video recording was started after the first indsion and stopped after closure of the surgical site.Result:Of the 51 cases that were studied,45(88.2%)were elective,and 18(35.3%)were laparoscopic cases.They could be classified into 8 types of open procedures and 4 types of lapar oscopic procedures.The mean maximum headcount inside the OR was 15.5土3.6 and doors opened on average of 15.8土6.0 times during a procedure.Other interruptions were surgeons attending phone calls(24,47.1%),leaving the sterile area(21,41.2%),technical disturbances(32,62.7%),anesthetic interruptions(18,35.3%),and faulty instruments(29,56.9%)Elective procedures had a signifcandy higher average number of in-terruptions per operating hour than emergency procedures(175±8.6vs.7.1±2.9,p<0.01).Condusion:Preventable factors such as faulty instruments,anesthetic interruption,and attending phone calls by the surgeon are commonly observed in ORs.They need to be addressed by timely surgical audits or the adoption of continued sureillance methods that can help take measures to minimize their occurrence.

Patients' preferred mode of travel to the orthopaedic theatre

AIM: To determine the preferred mode of travel to the operating theatre for elective orthopaedic patients. METHODS: Data was collected prospectively over a 2-wk period at an elective Orthopaedic Treatment Centre. Patients were asked to complete a patient satisfaction questionnaire following their surgery on their experience and subsequent preferred mode of transport to theatre. The data was then recorded in a tabulated format and analysed with percentages. Fisher's exact test was used to determine if there was any statistical association between patients' preference to walk and various groups; in-patient or day case procedures, and whether patients were < 60 years or > 60 years of age.RESULTS: Seventy patients(40 females and 30 males) fully completed the questionnaire. In total there were 33 d-cases and 37 in-patients. The spectrum of orthopaedic sub-specialties included was knee(41%), hip(17%), foot and ankle(24%), spine(13%) and upper limb(4%). Patient satisfaction for overall experience of travelling to theatre was either excellent(77%) or good(23%). Following their experience of travelling to theatre, 87%(95%CI: 79%-95%) of the total cohort would have preferred to walk to the operating theatre. There was a statistically significant association(P = 0.003) between patients' preference to walk and whether they were daycase or in-patients. Similarly, there was a statistically significance association(P = 0.028) between patients' preference to walk and whether they were < 60 years or > 60 years of age.CONCLUSION: This study confirms the majority of Orthopaedic elective patients would prefer to walk to theatre, when given the choice and if practically possible.

The 1787 Drama Dictionary as an Instrument of Enlightenment in Imperial Russia

The Russian theatre has not been neglected in the studies on theatre history, literary criticism and dramatic arts. The paper attempts to have a look at the 1787 Drama Dictionary, the first theatre reference book published in the country （with a very long Russian title containing 35 words） as a cultural product of the Enlightenment Age produced by its representative. In the introduction to the dictionary the compiler says that the publication would help young people develop a taste for refined entertainment and reject violent leisure activities of the past, enjoy theatre and learn life moral lessons from it. He considers theatre as a powerful means of changing Russian society as has been demanded by the Enlightenment Age. The structural and sociocultural analyses of 1787 Drama Dictionary materials give us an insight into some ways of westernising Russian society through theatre and how this westernisation was reflected in the theatre terminology of the time. I have argued that Russian-European Relationships resulting in the westernisation of Russian theatre theory and practices went hand in hand with the Russian translation-adaptation of Western plays and adaptation of some Western cultural patterns of social thinking and behaviour without rejecting completely the national identity in newly-born Russian dramatic literature.

When Violence on Stage Becomes Real： My Name Is Rachel Corrie

＂Verbatim＂ is a kind of documentary theatre in which drama is made from the precise words spoken by people in evidence, witnessing or remembering. Raising political issues and controversial topics, My Name Is Rachel Corrie （2005） is not just a moving play about violence in the Palestinian conflict. It is the real story of the murder of an American activist＇s fighting to denounce the genocide of innocent people. The problems of censorship that the play suffered in his premiere in New York remark the voice of a controversial play in Broadway＇s world. This paper will examine the images of violence present in the play and the value of the speaker as a real witness

Paralinguistic and Kinesic Codes of Performance： An Intercultural Gilgamesh

This paper examines the directing, acting and rehearsal process in transforming the ancient Babylonian epic Gilgamesh for the stage using performers＇ journals as a means of determining the effect of corporeal non-western styles on actors whose prior experience was almost exclusively in naturalistic and text-based theatre. The introduction of theatrical elements from multiple cultures including puppetry and the masks and techniques of Noh drama created a multi-tiered field for intercultural exchange. While Patrice Pavis＇s hourglass model for the transfer of theatrical material from a source to a target culture may hold true for productions that use linear modes of transmission, translation and incorporation of text, music, costumes and styles, its limitations make it necessary to posit alternative theories that take into account intercultural rehearsal practices, the collaboration of source and target culture and the dynamic interactions that take place through the agency of actor training in the fleshly physical theatre.

The Redemptive Power of Theatre and the Pursuit of Justice in Our Country’s Good

This paper aims to understand Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good in the context of theatre in crisis in the 1980s Britain and attempts to find the contemporary resonance of this history play. Through exploring the adaptation and workshop of the play, discussing the transformative influence of rehearsals on the convicts in the Australian penal colony, and expounding on theatre as an important venue for rehabilitation and justice in contemporary society, the paper intends to disclose the playwright’s commitment to theatre, her reassertion of the social role of theatre in contemporary Britain and her critique of Mrs. Thatcher’s philistinism which impaired art, particularly theatre, to a great degree.

Humour in Surrealist Theatre

Surrealist playwrights of the twentieth century use black humour in order to express their discontent towards the society in which they live.Parody of everyday life is a way of reaction against the extensive lifestyle.The actions,the choices and the situations,in which the characters of the surrealist dramas are involved,are comic and grotesque.Surrealist dramas reject the rules of the Western theatre;the lack of plot,the absurd,the misunderstanding,the use of poetic symbols,the parody of bourgeois life,the unexpected reactions and the unreasonable behaviour of the characters are some of the factors that cause laughter and surprise the audience.In this paper we will try to reveal the humour that emerges through the surrealist plays of AndréBreton,Philippe Soupault,Louis Aragon and Roger Vitrac.We will also attempt to highlight the key points through which surrealism in theatre uses black humour in an effort to cover the deep melancholy and pessimistic mood of surrealist dramatists.The questions arising are;in which ways is humour a way of revolution?How can humour include dreams,ingenuity and fantasy?