79 research outputs found
Towards integrated digital twins for construction and manufacturing
No full textA digital twin (DT) can enhance construction management with comprehensive real-time simulations. However, research rarely considers prefabrication factories, whose processes have a significant impact on cost and duration. It remains unclear how construction DTs can achieve their expected benefits without dynamically interacting with the DTs of manufacturing facilities. To address this, a DT integration model is proposed. It builds upon systems theory and describes integration across the three layers objectives, processes, and data & tools. A theoretical example demonstrates potential benefits of integrated DTs. This work can assist researchers and practitioners who are focusing on DTs in the execution phase.Design & Construction ManagementIntegral Design & Managemen
The Expressiveness of Music
No full textThe paper deals with the relationship between the art of music and human emotions, in particular, with the feature of musical works designated in aesthetic literature as „expressiveness“. After a short presentation of several main attempts at explaining the expressiveness of music in analytical aesthetics, the author offers a clarification of the conceptual confusion within presented theories, and points out their main difficulties and deficiencies
Comparison of the dietary habits of normal subjects among five Mediterranean countries and with the traditional Mediterranean diet
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Web3-based role and token data access: the case of building material passports
No full textLong-term access to lifecycle data is key to a successful transition towards a circular built environment. However, the underlying technology often remains centralized and risks becoming inaccessible over time. In this paper, we investigate whether decentralized access methods using Web3, i.e. blockchain and decentralized data storage protocols, can help to mitigate this limitation. We implement Web3 data access mechanisms for a material passport with both a role-based and a token-based smart contract. Initial results suggest that Web3 offers a promising approach to data access over the lifecycle of a built asset-but only with careful design choices.Integral Design & ManagementDesign & Construction Managemen
The Expressiveness of Music
No full textThe paper deals with the relationship between the art of music and human emotions, in particular, with the feature of musical works designated in aesthetic literature as „expressiveness“. After a short presentation of several main attempts at explaining the expressiveness of music in analytical aesthetics, the author offers a clarification of the conceptual confusion within presented theories, and points out their main difficulties and deficiencies
Peer Network Interventions for Secondary Students with ASD: Effects on Social Interaction and Bullying Victimization
No full textStudents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may experience limited positive social interactions with their peers and high rates of bullying victimization, especially during adolescence when peer groups become more selective. Limited positive social interactions with peers and bullying victimization have been associated with a myriad of negative consequences. Adolescents with ASD often require targeted supports to help them develop positive peer relationships and to reduce frequency of bullying victimization. This study examined the effects of a school-based, social intervention for high school students with ASD. Three adolescent males with ASD participated in a peer network intervention. A single case, multiple-probe across participants design was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention on two elements of social interaction: initiations and responses to and from students with ASD. Additionally, this study employed questionnaires at four time points to explore the effects of the intervention on frequency of social contacts and bullying victimization of the participants with ASD. This study demonstrated that the implementation of the peer network intervention resulted in increases in initiations and responses to and from participants with ASD. Overall increases in social interaction, as indicated by comparing interactions across participants and phases, were substantial. Findings provide evidence that peer network interventions are effective for increasing the social interactions of high school students with ASD. Further, results indicate preliminary support for the use of peer networks as an intervention to increase rates of social contacts and reduce rates of bullying victimization among students with ASD.Doctor of Philosoph
Application potential of biogenically synthesized silver nanoparticles using: Lythrum salicaria L. extracts as pharmaceuticals and catalysts for organic pollutant degradation
No full textThis study was designed to evaluate the optimal conditions for the eco-friendly synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Lythrum salicaria L. (Lythraceae) aqueous extracts and their potential application and safe use. AgNPs synthesized using L. salicaria aerial parts (LSA-AgNPs) and root extract (LSR-AgNPs) were characterized by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDS), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). Dynamic light scattering (DLS) was used for the determination of the size distribution profiles of the obtained nanoparticles. Both L. salicaria extracts showed high phenolic content, while the flavone C-glucosides orientin, vitexin, and isovitexin were detected in extracts using HPLC. The synthesized AgNPs displayed growth inhibition of the tested bacteria and fungi in concentrations between 0.156 and 1.25 mg mL-1. The studied nanoparticles also showed antioxidant potential and gained selectivity at different concentrations on different cancer cell lines. Concentrations of LSA-AgNPs were found to be 20.5 and 12 μg mL-1 towards A431 and SVT2, respectively, while LSR-AgNPs were effective only against A431 cancer cells (62 μg mL-1). The hemolytic activity of LSA-AgNPs in concentrations up to 150 μg mL-1 was not observed, while LSR-AgNPs in the highest applied concentration hemolyzed 2.8% of erythrocytes. The degradation possibility of Congo red and 4-nitrophenol using LSA-AgNPs and LSR-AgNPs as catalysts was also proven. The results indicate that L. salicaria may be used for the eco-friendly synthesis of AgNPs with possible applications as antimicrobial and selective cytotoxic agents towards cancer cell lines, as well as in catalytic degradation of pollutants
Aesthetic Criteria in the Evaluation of Scientific Theories: Transition from Geocentrism to Heliocentrism
No full textThe text focuses on the role of aesthetic criteria in the evaluation and acceptance of scientific theories. The first part of the text presents and analyzes the theory of James McAllister. McAllister explains the role of aesthetic criteria in science by appealing to aesthetic induction: based on the empirical success of previously accepted scientific theories, scientists project aesthetic value onto certain properties of those theories, such as simplicity, symmetry, the possibility of visualization, etc. McAllister cites the transition from geocentrism to heliocentrism as a case study in the history of science that supports this phenomenon. After presenting and analyzing McAllister’s theory, the author presents several objections both to the explanation of the transition to heliocentrism through aesthetic induction, and to the more general understanding of the formation of aesthetic criteria in scientific practice
Knowledge Management in Regional Networks: Empirical Results from the Green Building Cluster of Lower Austria
No full textIn this paper, I develop a knowledge-based view on the organization of knowledge transfer in clusters, by exploring the Green Building Cluster of Lower Austria. Starting with the information richness theory, I argue that tacitness of the partners´ knowledge determines the information richness of the knowledge transfer mechanisms in clusters. The following hypotheses are examined: (a) If the cluster partners´ knowledge is characterized by a low degree of tacitness, knowledge transfer mechanisms with a lower degree of information richness (e.g. email, intranet, documents, newsgroups) are used; (b) if the cluster partners´ knowledge is characterized by a high degree of tacitness, knowledge transfer mechanisms with a higher degree of information richness (e.g. seminars, workshops, formal meetings) are used. I test these hypotheses by using data from the Green Building Cluster of Lower Austria. Using complexity, teachability and codifiability as measures for tacitness of the cluster partners´ knowledge, the empirical results from Green Building Cluster in Austria partly support these hypotheses. The results indicate that an increase in teachable knowledge results in the use of more knowledge transfer mechanisms with a lower degree of information richness, and an increase in complex, but articulable knowledge results in the use of more knowledge transfer mechanisms with a higher degree of information richness. In addition, I show that trust positively influences the use of all modes of knowledge transfer.
The paper is organized as follows: After the Introduction in Section 1, Section 2 reviews the relevant literature related to knowledge transfer in networks. In Section 3, I develop the knowledge-based view of knowledge transfer mechanisms and derive testable hypotheses. Finally, in Section 4 I test these hypotheses using data from the Green Building Cluster of Lower Austria
Serum N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase profiles in type 1 diabetes secondary complications: Causes of changes and significance of determination
No full textThe connection between changes in the activity of serum N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG, E.C.3.2.1.30) and iso-enzymes and degree of secondary complications was analyzed in four groups of type 1 diabetic patients (n=69): without complications (n=22); with retinopathy (n=16); with retinopathy and polyneuropathy (n= 13), and with retinopathy, neuropathy, and nephropathy (n=18). In all groups statistically significant higher (P lt 0.001) percent fraction of A form (83.84 +/- 6.09, 84.37 +/- 5.74, 81.76 +/- 6.02, 76.37 +/- 7.38%, resp.) and lower (P lt 0.001, P lt 0.01) fraction of B form (15.87 +/- 5.65, 15.66 +/- 5.74, 18.33 +/- 5.98, 23.63 +/- 7.38, resp.) in total NAG compared with the control (A = 69.38 +/- 4.79%, B = 30.61 +/- 4.78%) were found. The differences in A as well as B forms between diabetic groups were not statistically significant. Significant strong positive correlations between total NAG and glycemia (0.494-0.623), total NAG and A form (0.934-0.966), and A form and glycemia (0.512-0.638) were found in all groups. No correlation was found between the fractions of B and A forms, except in the fourth group. The A form of diabetic patients in the fourth group was more acidic compared with the control and other diabetic groups. It was concluded that the changes in serum NAG and isoenzymic profiles in diabetes are the consequence of its increased exocytose, especially of the A form, in hyperglycemia and posttranslational modifications of iso-enzymes. The total activity of serum NAG and iso-enzymic profiles cannot be used for monitoring the development and distinction of type 1 diabetes secondary complications
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