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BIM and design briefing integration: feasibility study and conceptual system framework development
No full textDesign briefing plays a crucial role in the success of a building project. Some new methods of design briefing have been developed recently, but rarely integrated with Building Information Modelling (BIM). This paper presents a feasibility study of implementing BIM in the design briefing and develop a conceptual system framework to present possible functionalities and processes of BIM-based design briefing. This study started with a series of the interviews with professionals in the industry as well as academics in
various universities in the UK. A thematic analysis has been carried out to analyse the interview transcripts. The development of conceptual system framework following the software engineering method presents the major functional modules and relevant datasets of a BIM-based design briefing
system which identified in the interviews. The paper also discusses on both the benefit and the potential difficulties of BIM-based design briefing, although 93 % of the interviewees agree that BIM technology should be adopted in design briefing to improve the quality & process of design and to involve other stakeholders and POE data in design briefing
Socially-responsible university in times of crisis – a comparison of case studies
No full textHow do a modern university with local and global reputation come to the service of communities in which it is housed – is the central question that binds together two case studies from England and India for this paper. The case studies are set in the backdrop of a global pandemic that forced universities to close or resort to distant learning with no or little consideration to access to device, internet or study space for students. This paper reports on and synthesises two case studies from different socio-economic contexts but essentially responding to the same crisis in a bid to become ‘socially responsible’ university. University’s social responsibility is a heterogeneous and multifaceted concept particularly when corporatisation, and a university’s local, national and international influences are factored in. The paper compares the case studies in terms of how two different universities with varying degrees of local and global social responsibilities have/had mobilised university–community engagement with local schools and communities through research, outreach and engagement programmes aimed at mitigating the disadvantages imposed by the global pandemic. The authors were directly involved in the engagement programmes for their respective universities and data for the case studies were collected using survey questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions. The methodological approach was grounded in the understandings and experiences of respondents and privileges local knowledge to accommodate the complexity of programme targets for two contextually different universities. Findings suggest useful insights into understanding the dynamics of power relations and local/global prioritisation in the ways university–community engagement was undertaken. Moreover, research and outreach engagements have reflected the trend towards corporate-inspired measures of performance targets and market influence in displaying university’s local and global ‘social responsibility’. However, the pandemic crisis has forced universities of various local and global clout to fast-track or rethink their engagement strategies in order to produce positive outcomes for schools and communities – local, global or both. On one hand, as our case studies reveal, universities do it to benefit their brand recognition; on the other, to establish a good standing in the community. This raises questions about how universities balance their social responsibility as agents of change between global and local, and between marketing paradigm and conscience of social justice
An early stage researcher's primer on systems medicine terminology
Get PDFBackground: Systems Medicine is a novel approach to medicine, that is, an interdisciplinary field that considers the human body as a system, composed of multiple parts and of complex relationships at multiple levels, and further integrated into an environment. Exploring Systems Medicine implies understanding and combining concepts coming from diametral different fields, including medicine, biology, statistics, modeling and simulation, and data science. Such heterogeneity leads to semantic issues, which may slow down implementation and fruitful interaction between these highly diverse fields.
Methods: In this review, we collect and explain more than100 terms related to Systems Medicine. These include both modeling and data science terms and basic systems medicine terms, along with some synthetic definitions, examples of applications, and lists of relevant references.
Results: This glossary aims at being a first aid kit for the Systems Medicine researcher facing an unfamiliar term, where he/she can get a first understanding of them, and, more importantly, examples and references for digging into the topic
Shear strength of reinforced mortar beams containing polyvinyl alcohol fibre (PVA)
Get PDFThe current study aims to assess the shear behaviour of reinforced mortar beams including Polyvinyl Alcohol Fibre (PVA) ranges from 0 to 2.25%, fly ash (55%) and silica fume (15%). Fourteen beams were experimentally tested under two concentrated loads. In addition, a finite element model was developed to predict the crack pattern, load–deflection, energy absorption, and shear strength results of the test beams. The studied variables were different percentages of PVA fibres, shear span to depth ratio (a/d), and transverse reinforcement (stirrups) ratio. The fly ash and silica fume were kept constant in all the studied mixes to achieve a compressive strength above 55 MPa at the time of testing (90 days) and to improve PVA-mortar properties. It was found that the inclusion of PVA improves the shear behavior of the tested beams in terms of crack pattern and ductility. It was observed also that reducing a/d led to enhancing the shear capacity without changing the mode of failure. In addition, PVA played the same role as the stirrups and their effect on the ultimate shear capacity was increased with reducing the volume of stirrups. Moreover, the PVA fibres were more effective in lower shear span to depth ratio (a/d = 1.5) giving an enhancement of shear resistance of 221%. The non-linear finite element model showed excellent agreement with the experimental results and the ratio of the predicted to experimental ultimate strength ranged between 0.91 and 1.09. The authors recommend a combination of fly ash, silica fume and at least 1.5% PVA in the presence of minimum stirrups reinforcement (5U6/m) or adding 2.25% PVA without stirrups to achieve adequate shear behaviour and to improve the ductility of PVA-mortar beams
DCSS protocol for data caching and sharing security in a 5G network
Get PDFFifth Generation mobile networks (5G) promise to make network services provided by various Service Providers (SP) such as Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and third-party SPs accessible from anywhere by the end-users through their User Equipment (UE). These services will be pushed closer to the edge for quick, seamless, and secure access. After being granted access to a service, the end-user will be able to cache and share data with other users. However, security measures should be in place for SP not only to secure the provisioning and access of those services but also, should be able to restrict what the end-users can do with the accessed data in or out of coverage. This can be facilitated by federated service authorization and access control mechanisms that restrict the caching and sharing of data accessed by the UE in different security domains. In this paper, we propose a Data Caching and Sharing Security (DCSS) protocol that leverages federated authorization to provide secure caching and sharing of data from multiple SPs in multiple security domains. We formally verify the proposed DCSS protocol using ProVerif and applied pi-calculus. Furthermore, a comprehensive security analysis of the security properties of the proposed DCSS protocol is conducted
The role of embodied carbon databases in the accuracy of life cycle assessment (LCA) calculations for the embodied carbon of buildings
Get PDFStudies conducted by major national and international scientific bodies have indisputably concluded that the increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) since the mid-20th century has led to irreversible changes in the climate. Data has shown that the contribution of the building sector accounts for 39% of these emissions. Reducing GHG emissions associated with the construction phase of buildings, or embodied carbon (EC), will prevent GHG emissions from entering the atmosphere earlier, reducing the negative impacts. However, to achieve any meaningful reduction, there is a need for consistency and accuracy in the calculations. The accuracy of these calculations is primarily tied to the accuracy of embodied carbon factors (ECF) used in the calculations, values determining the environmental impact of a product or procedure per unit weight. The emissions of any product can be calculated by performing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). While the requirements for carrying out an LCA have been standardised in ISO14044, the lack of a definitive national ECF database in the UK means that EC calculations can vary drastically based on the chosen database. An LCA has been carried out on a standard Lidl supermarket design within the A1–A3 boundary. For the calculation, the ECFs were sourced from two different databases, using the GHG conversion factor data published in 2020 by the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change and data published in 2019 by the Inventory of Carbon and Energy (ICE). The latter is currently accepted as the most consistent database for carbon factors in the UK. This study showed that using a more detailed database compared to using a more general database could result in a 35.2% reduction of embodied carbon, while using more detailed data from a single database can reduce it by a further 5.5%. It is necessary to establish the most accurate baseline for embodied carbon so that any carbon reduction attempts can be as effective as possible
Identification and characterisation of the lactic acid bacteria associated with the traditional fermentation of dairy fermented product
Get PDFThe aim of this research was to identify the key lactic acid bacteria associated with the fermentation of dairy traditional fermented products for developing starter cultures for controlled fermentation. A total of 100 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from dairy traditional fermented products. Samples were obtained from eight producers in the South East of Nigeria. Isolates were identified by phenotypic and genotypic techniques including rep-PCR genotyping and sequencing of the 16S rRNA, pheS and rpoA genes. Isolates were characterised for antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens, exopolysaccharide (EPS) production and survival at low pH and in the presence of bile salts. All isolates clustered into 11 distinct rep-PCR groups and were identified as Lactobacillus fermentum (40%), Lactobacillus delbrueckii (23%), Streptococcus thermophilus (22%), Streptococcus infantarius (10%), Lactobacillus senioris (2%), Leuconostoc pseudomesenteriodes (2%) and Enterococcus thailandicus (1%). Lactobacillus fermentum showed a broad spectrum antimicrobial activity and survival at low pH, while Lactobacillus delbrueckii was able to tolerate low pH and produce EPS. All isolates survived in vitro exposure to 1% (w/v) bile salts over a 3-h period. L. fermentum, L. delbrueckii and S. thermophilus could be used to simulate the fermentation of dairy traditional fermented products
Current UK clinical practice in diagnosing dementia in younger adults: compliance with quality indicators in electronic health records from mental health trusts
Get PDFObjectives
To examine current UK practice in diagnosis of patients under 65 with young onset dementia, within 5 years of date of diagnosis, identified from electronic health records of 8 NHS mental health trusts.
Methods
Patients diagnosed with young onset dementia were assembled from the UK-Clinical Record Interactive System, (UK-CRIS) using diagnosis of dementia as the index date. A pre-designed proforma, derived by international Delphi consensus from experts in the field in previous work, was used to assess components of the diagnostic assessment in 402 electronic health records across 8 NHS sites. Information was extracted on key aspects of clinical and physical examination according to both a minimum and gold standard.
Results
Percentage compliance rates analysed by NHS site and statement, including compliance for site for minimum standard (11 statements), the additional 20 statements required for Gold standard, and the complete Gold standard set (31 statements) show that the additional 20 statements in the Gold standard had consistently higher compliance rates for every site compared to the minimum set.
Conclusion
Findings confirmed variation in clinical practice and identified commonly missed items in examination and enquiry compared to expert consensus. This suggests that a template proforma, which contains the key indicators for comprehensive assessment of dementia in young adults according to a quality standard could help support clinicians to improve record keeping and reduce gaps in knowledge
