1,720,955 research outputs found
Digitally fabricated low cost housing: material, joint and prototype
Full text linkMotivated by the global housing deficit and limited natural resources, this study aims to utilize
digital fabrication technologies coupled with local sustainable materials in the quest for
alternative, adequate low-cost housing solutions for the less fortunate population, mainly in
developing countries.
The thesis is structured into two main parts: a theoretical and an empirical study. The theoretical
part identifies the research problem and lays the foundation of knowledge, as well as defines the
motivating questions, aim, objectives, scope, methodology and tools used throughout the thesis.
An overview of fundamental concepts of mechanisation, standardisation, prefabrication, mass
housing, and mass customisation is provided. Different types of prefabricated housing are
presented followed by a discussion of select architect-led and industry-led early precedents in
prefabrication. The theoretical part also includes an analysis of state-of-the-art built projects or
prototypes of digitally fabricated houses. Through this analysis, how these prototypes respond to
housing problems is addressed and an observation is made of how these built projects can be
categorised into main streams or different trends. After defining the potentials and limitations of
these precedents, a number of design criteria or design guidelines are proposed forming the basis
for the proposition of a housing system that addresses these drawbacks under the name “Housing
System 01”.
The second part of the thesis is a Design-Build-Evaluate empirical study in which the proposed
housing system combining concepts of complete off-site prefabrication with modular parametric
localised digital fabrication is outlined. Given the necessity of cost reductions, an integral joining
system (snap-fit) using an agricultural residue panel material is tested as the principal method for
the construction of wall assemblies. The study proves that by using integral joints, it is possible to
involve the end-user of the housing unit in the construction activities promoting the concept of
“Self-Build”, as the simplicity of the system allows for the participation of end-users with no
previous construction expertise thereby decreasing cost.
A set of mechanical tests are performed to characterise wheat straw panels and then snap-fit
joints are dimensioned within the elastic limits of this specific material. Three partial wall
assembly prototypes are built. One axial compression test is performed on one of the prototypes.
The tests show that the material and the joint system promise to provide a viable construction
system as an alternative low-cost housing solution. Further optimisation and more physical
structural testing are needed to address more complex forces and loading scenarios
RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI STRAINS FROM PATIENTS AFTER TREATMENT FAILURE
No full textThe presence of mutant resistant bacteria can be due to the prolonged and continuous exposure to antimicrobial agents during the infection with consequent treatment failure. The observed high resistance rates in our study may be related to the high number of therapy cycles (up to 9) that the population under consideration has done suggesting that the following treatments might increase antibiotic resistance, even if data on resistance before and after eradication failure in the same group of patients are not available. K-B and E-test provide comparable results for Hp when testing for the antibiotics studied with reduced reliability for MZ. In fact the E-test may over-estimate MZ-resistance because the presence of intermediate MIC levels. Dual resistance to both MZ and CLA was found in 16 strains (50%). LEV appears a promising alternative for Hp refractory infections. A distinct pattern of antibiotic sensitivity of isolates belonging to different districts of the stomach (heteroresistance) was noticed in 36.3% of cases (4/11 patients with pangastritis). The presence in the same patient of Hp strains either S or R to various antimicrobial agents, may interfere with the outcome of the therap
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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