Automated Planning of Concrete Joint Layouts with 4D-BIM

Concrete pouring represents a major critical path activity that is often affected by design limitations, structural considerations and on-site operational constraints. As such, meticulous planning is required to ensure that both the aesthetic and structural integrity of joints between cast in-situ components is achieved. Failure to adequately plan concrete pouring could lead to structural defects, construction rework or structural instability, all having major financial implications. Given the inherent complexity of large-scale construction projects, the ‘manual planning’ of concrete pouring is a challenging task and prone to human errors. Against this backdrop, this study developed 4D Building Information Management (BIM) approach to facilitate automated concrete joint positioning solution (as a proof of concept) for design professionals and contractors. The study first developed structural model in Revit, then extracted spatial information regarding all construction joints and linked them to dynamic Microsoft (MS) Excel and Matlab spreadsheets using integration facilitated by Dynamo software. Midspan points of each beam as well as floor perimeter information were gathered via codes developed in MS Excel macros. Based on the Excel outputs, Matlab programming was used to determine best concreating starting points and directions, and daily allowed concrete volume, considering limitations due to cold joints. These information were then pushed back to Revit via Dynamo in order to develop daily concrete scheduling. The developed automated programme framework offers a cost-effective and accurate methodology to address the limitations and inefficiencies of traditional methods of designing construction joints and planning pours. This framework extends the body of knowledge by introducing innovative solutions to integrate structural design considerations, constructional procedures and operational aspects for mitigating human error, and providing a novel, yet technically sound, basis for further application of BIM in structural engineering

Making medication communication visible in community pharmacies-pharmacists' experience using a question prompt list in the patient meeting

Background Even though patient engagement in the pharmacy encounter is low, few studies focus on activating patients. A Question Prompt List (QPL) has been used successfully in other parts of healthcare to encourage patients to raise their questions and concerns. For a QPL to be useful in a pharmacy setting, it first must be considered valuable and be accepted by pharmacists. Objective To investigate the experience of community pharmacists using a QPL in counseling patients about prescribed medications. Methods An explorative, qualitative study was conducted in 2020. A QPL, for use in pharmacy counseling, was developed based on previous literature. Semi-structured interviews were held with pharmacists. A thematic analysis approach was conducted, and the analytical framework Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used. Results Data were collected in 7 Swedish community pharmacies in interviews with 29 purposefully selected pharmacists. Three themes were identified: Perceived usefulness: the impact of the QPL on patient activation in the encounter, Perceived ease of use of the QPL in pharmacies, and Increasing the perceived usefulness and ease of use of the QPL. The pharmacists perceived patients as more active in the meeting when using the QPL. The list focused the conversation on medications, which the pharmacists appreciated from a professional point of view. They described the QPL as a useful tool that could easily be integrated into the dispensing process and required little training; however, challenges described were, for example, time constraints and stress. Conclusions Pharmacists reported that using a QPL improved patient participation in the encounter. Encouraging counseling on medications was seen as beneficial from a professional point of view. In the early adoption phase, the QPL was easy to implement and did not increase the pharmacists' workload. A QPL appears to be a promising tool for pharmacists to improve the quality of the consultation experience

Enhancing climate change resilience in agricultural crops

Climate change threatens global food and nutritional security through negative effects on crop growth and agricultural productivity. Many countries have adopted ambitious climate change mitigation and adaptation targets that will exacerbate the problem, as they require significant changes in current agri-food systems. In this review, we provide a roadmap for improved crop production that encompasses the effective transfer of current knowledge into plant breeding and crop management strategies that will underpin sustainable agriculture intensification and climate resilience. We identify the main problem areas and highlight outstanding questions and potential solutions that can be applied to mitigate the impacts of climate change on crop growth and productivity. Although translation of scientific advances into crop production lags far behind current scientific knowledge and technology, we consider that a holistic approach, combining disciplines in collaborative efforts, can drive better connections between research, policy, and the needs of society