Toward Improving BIM Acceptance in FM: A Conceptual Model Integrating TTF and TAM

Substantial research has been performed on Building Information Modeling (BIM) in various topics, for instance, the use and benefit of BIM in design, construction, sustainable environment building, and Facility assets over the past several years. Although there are various studies on these topics, Building Information Modeling (BIM) awareness through facilities management is still relatively poor. The researcher's interest is increased in BIM study is based heavily upon the perception that it can facilitate the exchange and reuse of information during various project phases. This property and others can be used in the Iraqi Construction industry to motivate the government to eliminate the change resistance to use innovations in the Iraqi construction industry. Even though many scholars and practitioners agree on the potential application and benefits of BIM in construction/ Facilities Management FM, it is yet unknown why BIM is used and what criteria facilitate BIM achievement in O&M. As long as the actual usage and acceptance of BIM in the Operation and Maintenance phase is still a central issue in practice, therefor depending on the extensive well ground literature review a conceptual acceptance model is proposed in this paper by applying the technology acceptance theories such as Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Task Technology Fit (TTF) to explore how the extent of facilities management staff going to accept and adopt the new international technology (BIM).                               

COVID-19 Vaccination Among Diverse Population Groups in the Northern Governorates of Iraq

Objectives: The present study was carried out to investigate COVID-19 vaccination coverage among populations of internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, and host communities in northern Iraq and the related underlying factors.Methods: Through a cross-sectional study conducted in five governorates in April–May 2022, 4,564 individuals were surveyed. Data were collected through an adapted questionnaire designed to gather data on participants.Results: 4,564 subjects were included (59.55% were 19–45 years old; 54.51% male). 50.48% of the participants (51.49% of host communities, 48.83% of IDPs, and 45.87% of refugees) had been vaccinated with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. 40.84% of participants (42.28% of host communities, 35.75% of IDPs, and 36.14% of refugees) had been vaccinated by two doses, and 1.56% (1.65% of host communities, 0.93% of IDPs, and 1.46% of refugees) were vaccinated with three doses.Conclusion: Sociodemographic factors including age, gender, education, occupation, and nationality could affect vaccination coverage. Moreover, higher acceptance rate of vaccination is associated with belief in vaccine safety and effectiveness and trust in the ability of the vaccine to prevent complications

Tuning the Surface Wettability of Cyclic Olefin Copolymer by Plasma Treatment and Graphene Oxide Deposition and Reduction

Selective altering of surface wettability in microfluidic channels provides a suitable platform for a large range of processes, such as the phase separation of multiphase systems, synthesis of reaction controlled, nanoliter sized droplet reactors, and catalyst impregnation. Herein we study the feasibility to tune the wettability of a flexible cyclic olefin copolymer (COC). Two methods were considered for enhancing the surface hydrophilicity. The first is argon/oxygen plasma treatment, where the effect of treatment duration on water contact angle and COC surface morphology and chemistry were investigated, and the second is coating COC with GO dispersions of different concentrations. For enhancing the hydrophobicity of GO-coated COC surfaces, three reduction methods were considered: chemical reduction by Hydroiodic acid (HI), thermal reduction, and photo reduction by exposure of GO-coated COC to UV light. The results show that as the GO concentration and plasma treatment duration increased, a significant decrease in contact angle was observed, which confirmed the ability to enhance the wettability of the COC surface. The increase in hydrophilicity during plasma treatment was associated with the increase in surface roughness on the treated surfaces, while the increase during GO coating was associated with introducing oxygen-containing groups on the GO-coated COC surfaces. The results also show that the different reduction methods considered can increase the contact angle and improve the hydrophobicity of a GO-coated COC surface. It was found that the significant improvement in hydrophobicity was related to the reduction of oxygen-containing groups on the GO-coated COC modified surface

Combining Pre- and Post-Nucleation Trajectories for the Synthesis of High FAU-Content Faujasite Nanocrystals from Organic-Free Sols

The effects of synthesis conditions on the FAU/EMT content and the size of nanocrystals, formed from inorganic aluminosilicate sols, were investigated. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging and comparison of experimental X-ray diffraction patterns with simulations demonstrated that all materials made starting from synthesis mixtures in the composition range (1.8–33) SiO₂:1 Al₂O₃:(2.7–33) Na₂O:(41–1000) H₂O contain FAU/EMT intergrowths. Compositions with low water content increase the FAU fraction up to 0.8 but the crystal size exceeds 100 nm. Extension of the higher FAU purity to nanocrystals was achieved only by first mixing the sol at high water content compositions that favor nanocrystal formation and thenafter a certain timelowering by freeze-drying the water to levels favoring the formation of FAU. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering from representative optically clear and colloidally stable precursor sols (aged and crystallized at ambient temperature) reveal the formation of amorphous aggregates before the detection of crystals, in agreement with earlier findings and an existing model for the aggregative growth of the zeolite MFI. The presence of these amorphous aggregates coincides with the aforementioned state of sol that preserves the original trajectory toward nanocrystals after the pronounced reduction of water content by freeze-drying. If water reduction by freeze-drying is applied earlier (before the detection of amorphous aggregates), the sol follows the low water content trajectory toward larger crystals. Despite this memory effect, the sol at this stage is still agnostic toward FAU or EMT formation, the relative content of which is dominantly determined by the final water content. These findings demonstrate that it is possible to combine the effects of pre- and post-nucleation sol composition to steer crystal size and crystal structure, respectively. They confirm precursor nanoparticle evolution, while they emphasize the importance of solution phase composition at both pre- and post-nucleation stages of aggregative crystal growth

Low-Level Laser Therapy and Topical Medications for Treating Aphthous Ulcers: A Systematic Review

Objective: The study compares low-level laser therapy with topical medications for treating aphthous ulcers. Methods: A search of articles in this systematic review was completed in six databases. Treatment and comparative groups comprised of patients subjected to laser therapy and topical medications, respectively. Two different treatment outcomes were considered; pain and size of the lesion. Risk of bias was assessed using the Revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials. Results: From 109 articles, five randomized control trials fulfilled the selection criteria. The overall sample comprised of 98 males and 232 females, with a mean age of 32.4 years. The laser therapies in each included study had different active media and varying wavelengths. Topical medication used in the comparative group were triamcinolone acetonide, amlexanox, granofurin, and solcoseryl. Findings showed that patients who reported lower pain and decreased aphthous ulcer lesions were more in the laser therapy group than in the topical medication group. Conclusion: Low-level laser therapy was better in treating aphthous ulcer lesions in comparison to topical medications, and all laser wavelengths in the included reports were seen to be effective. However, the results should be interpreted with caution, because no study demonstrated low-risk of bias in all the assessed domains

Low-Level Laser Therapy and Topical Medications for Treating Aphthous Ulcers:A Systematic Review

Objective: The study compares low-level laser therapy with topical medications for treating aphthous ulcers. Methods: A search of articles in this systematic review was completed in six databases. Treatment and comparative groups comprised of patients subjected to laser therapy and topical medications, respectively. Two different treatment outcomes were considered; pain and size of the lesion. Risk of bias was assessed using the Revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials. Results: From 109 articles, five randomized control trials fulfilled the selection criteria. The overall sample comprised of 98 males and 232 females, with a mean age of 32.4 years. The laser therapies in each included study had different active media and varying wavelengths. Topical medication used in the comparative group were triamcinolone acetonide, amlexanox, granofurin, and solcoseryl. Findings showed that patients who reported lower pain and decreased aphthous ulcer lesions were more in the laser therapy group than in the topical medication group. Conclusion: Low-level laser therapy was better in treating aphthous ulcer lesions in comparison to topical medications, and all laser wavelengths in the included reports were seen to be effective. However, the results should be interpreted with caution, because no study demonstrated low-risk of bias in all the assessed domains

A quantitative study of the structure-activity relationship in hierarchical zeolites using liquid-phase reactions

Micro/meso/macroporous (hierarchical) zeolites show remarkable catalytic performance for reactions involving bulky reactants. However, quantitative assessment of the microstructural characteristics contributing to the observed performance remains elusive. Here, structure–activity relationships are established for a set of micro/mesoporous self‐pillared pentasil (SPP) zeolites using two parallel liquid‐phase reactions (benzyl alcohol alkylation and self‐etherification) based on analysis of mass transport and reaction kinetics. A reaction–diffusion mathematical model is developed that quantitatively assigns the catalytic contributions of the external surface and micropores of SPP zeolites for these reactions. In addition, the effect of the zeolite external surface structure on the corresponding catalytic activity is quantitatively assessed by comparing SPP zeolites (with MFI structure) with MCM‐22 (with MWW structure). This work demonstrates that reaction–diffusion modeling allows quantitative description of the catalytic performance of hierarchical zeolites and provides a model reaction to assess nm‐sized characteristic diffusion lengths in MFI

A quantitative study of the structure-activity relationship in hierarchical zeolites using liquid-phase reactions

Micro/meso/macroporous (hierarchical) zeolites show remarkable catalytic performance for reactions involving bulky reactants. However, quantitative assessment of the microstructural characteristics contributing to the observed performance remains elusive. Here, structure–activity relationships are established for a set of micro/mesoporous self‐pillared pentasil (SPP) zeolites using two parallel liquid‐phase reactions (benzyl alcohol alkylation and self‐etherification) based on analysis of mass transport and reaction kinetics. A reaction–diffusion mathematical model is developed that quantitatively assigns the catalytic contributions of the external surface and micropores of SPP zeolites for these reactions. In addition, the effect of the zeolite external surface structure on the corresponding catalytic activity is quantitatively assessed by comparing SPP zeolites (with MFI structure) with MCM‐22 (with MWW structure). This work demonstrates that reaction–diffusion modeling allows quantitative description of the catalytic performance of hierarchical zeolites and provides a model reaction to assess nm‐sized characteristic diffusion lengths in MFI