Visualization 1.mp4

Switching effects of spontaneously formed superlattice

The demands of China's higher educational institutions in developing health informatics program facing the challenges of the 21st century

The demands of China's higher educational institutions in developing health informatics program facing the challenges of the 21st Century

Risk paths in BIM adoption: Empirical study of China

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to model the paths of risks associated with building information modeling (BIM) adoption in the Chinese architecture, engineering and construction industry. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 16 risks were identified from the literature review and grouped into nine categories. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey with 95 professionals in China. The partial least square structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings - The results suggested the risk categorization was confirmed, and that 15 hypothetical risk paths were statistically significant, which formed 13 chains of risk paths. “Inadequate relevant knowledge and expertise” was the primary root risk category of all the 13 chains of risk paths. Additionally, “technological issues,” “poor information sharing and collaboration,” and “liability for data input” had direct effect on the “cost overrun with BIM,” while all the other risks indirectly influence cost via these three risk categories. Research limitations/implications - Most of the respondents were designers because few clients and contractors have adopted BIM. In addition, the impact and likelihood of risks were accessed by respondents’ judgment based on their experience, which is a common problem of risk management research. As this study focuses on the Chinese architecture, engineering and construction industry, there would be geographical limitation on the findings. Practical implications - This study provides practitioners with a clear understanding of the risks associated with BIM adoption and enables practitioners to take measures to mitigate the root risks and assure the potential benefits of BIM. Originality/value - Although there have been studies on the risks associated with BIM adoption, most of them lacked empirical evidence and failed to examine the interactions between risks. This study is different from these prior studies, because it focuses on the interrelationships between risks and identifies the risk paths and root risks using the empirical data. Therefore, this study expands the literature relating to both BIM and risk management. Also, this study enables practitioners to take measures to mitigate the root risks and assure the potential benefits produced by BIM, thereby contributing to the practice

Developing a conceptual framework to improve the implementation of 3D printing technology in the construction industry

3D printing, as an automated construction technology, has the potential to transform the construction industry. This study attempts to propose a conceptual framework that can assist the adoption of 3D printing technology in the Australian construction industry. A total of 14 factors influencing adoption of 3D printing technology was identified from a comprehensive literature review. A questionnaire survey was performed with 105 professionals working in the Australian construction industry. ‘Building codes and regulations’, ‘top management commitment’ and ‘liability for 3D printed components’ were the top three significant factors, indicating that soft aspects of 3D printing adoption should match the technological advancement. In addition, the conceptual framework was confirmed, suggesting that technology readiness led to the effectiveness of 3D printing, organizational support, and development of policies and regulations; development of policies and regulations contributed to organizational support and effectiveness of 3D printing; and organizational support positively influences the effectiveness of 3D printing. This study for the first time proposes a conceptual framework for promoting 3D printing technology in the construction industry, thus providing an understanding of the relationships between the influential factors for both the academics and industry practitioners

Emotion-cognitive reasoning integrated BERT for sentiment analysis of online public opinions on emergencies

Emotion-cognitive reasoning integrated BERT for sentiment analysis of online public opinions on emergencie

Accounting for Imported Cases in Estimating the Time-Varying Reproductive Number of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Hong Kong

Estimating the time-varying reproductive number, Rt, is critical for monitoring transmissibility of an infectious disease. The impact of imported cases on the estimation is rarely explored. We developed a model to estimate separately the Rt for local cases and imported cases, accounting for imperfect contact tracing of cases. We applied this framework to data on coronavirus disease 2019 outbreaks in Hong Kong. The estimated Rt for local cases rose above 1 in late March 2020, which was undetected by other commonly used methods. When imported cases account for a considerable proportion of all cases, their impact on estimating Rt is critical

Avian influenza human infections at the human-animal interface

Background. Avian influenza A viruses (AIVs) are among the most concerning emerging and re-emerging pathogens because of the potential risk for causing an influenza pandemic with catastrophic impact. The recent increase in domestic animals and poultry worldwide was followed by an increase of human AIV outbreaks reported. Methods. We reviewed the epidemiology of human infections with AIV from the literature including reports from the World Health Organization, extracting information on virus subtype, time, location, age, sex, outcome, and exposure. Results. We described the characteristics of more than 2500 laboratory-confirmed human infections with AIVs. Human infections with H5N1 and H7N9 were more frequently reported than other subtypes. Risk of death was highest among reported cases infected with H5N1, H5N6, H7N9, and H10N8 infections. Older people and males tended to have a lower risk of infection with most AIV subtypes, except for H7N9. Visiting live poultry markets was mostly reported by H7N9, H5N6, and H10N8 cases, while exposure to sick or dead bird was mostly reported by H5N1, H7N2, H7N3, H7N4, H7N7, and H10N7 cases. Conclusions. Understanding the profile of human cases of different AIV subtypes would guide control strategies. Continued monitoring of human infections with AIVs is essential for pandemic preparedness

Transmission of hand, foot and mouth disease and its potential driving factors in Hong Kong

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) is a common childhood disease with substantial disease burden in Asia. Mixed results were reported on the associations between HFMD incidence and meteorological factors or school holidays, while limited studies focused on their association on transmissibility. We aimed to measure the transmissibility of HFMD and to examine its potential driving factors in Hong Kong. A likelihood-based procedure was used to estimate time-dependent effective reproduction number (R t) based on weekly number of HFMD-associated hospitalizations from 2010 to 2014. The associations of between-year effects, depletion of susceptibles, absolute humidity and school holidays with R t were examined using linear regression. R t usually started increasing between early spring and summer and peaked in April to May at around 1.1-1.2, followed by a slight rebound in autumn. Depletion of susceptibles and between-years effects explained most of the variances (19 and 13% respectively) in R t. We found a negative association between depletion of susceptibles and R t (coefficients ranged from -0.14 to -0.03 for different years), but the estimated effects of absolute humidity and school holidays were insignificant. Overall, HFMD transmission was moderate in Hong Kong and was mainly associated with depletion of susceptibles. Limited impact was suggested from meteorological factors and school holidays

The epidemiological and public health research response to 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1): Experiences from Hong Kong

In recent years, Hong Kong has invested in research infrastructure to appropriately respond to novel infectious disease epidemics. Research from Hong Kong made a strong contribution to the international response to the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic (pH1N1). Summarizing, describing, and reviewing Hong Kong's response to the 2009 pandemic, this article aimed to identify key elements of a real-time research response. A systematic search in PubMed and EMBASE for research into the infection dynamics and natural history, impact, or control of pH1N1 in Hong Kong. Eligible articles were analyzed according to their scope. Fifty-five articles were included in the review. Transmissibility of pH1N1 was similar in Hong Kong to elsewhere, and only a small fraction of infections were associated with severe disease. School closures were effective in reducing pH1N1 transmission, oseltamivir was effective for treatment of severe cases while convalescent plasma therapy has the potential to mitigate future pandemics. There was a rapid and comprehensive research response to pH1N1 in Hong Kong, providing important information on the epidemiology of the novel virus with relevance internationally as well as locally. The scientific knowledge gained through these detailed studies of pH1N1 is now being used to revise and update pandemic plans. The experiences of the research response in Hong Kong could provide a template for the research response to future emerging and reemerging disease epidemics. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Landslide susceptibility mapping based on particle swarm optimization of multiple kernel relevance vector machines: Case of a low hill area in Sichuan Province, China

In this paper, we propose a multiple kernel relevance vector machine (RVM) method based on the adaptive cloud particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to map landslide susceptibility in the low hill area of Sichuan Province, China. In the multi-kernel structure, the kernel selection problem can be solved by adjusting the kernel weight, which determines the single kernel contribution of the final kernel mapping. The weights and parameters of the multi-kernel function were optimized using the PSO algorithm. In addition, the convergence speed of the PSO algorithm was increased using cloud theory. To ensure the stability of the prediction model, the result of a five-fold cross-validation method was used as the fitness of the PSO algorithm. To verify the results, receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) and landslide dot density (LDD) were used. The results show that the model that used a heterogeneous kernel (a combination of two different kernel functions) had a larger area under the ROC curve (0.7616) and a lower prediction error ratio (0.28%) than did the other types of kernel models employed in this study. In addition, both the sum of two high susceptibility zone LDDs (6.71/100 km2) and the sum of two low susceptibility zone LDDs (0.82/100 km2) demonstrated that the landslide susceptibility map based on the heterogeneous kernel model was closest to the historical landslide distribution. In conclusion, the results obtained in this study can provide very useful information for disaster prevention and land-use planning in the study area