Sustainable building production adopting an optimized BIM phasing system

Sustainable building production could be achieved through better economic efficiency, reduced site waste, and a safe working environment. The identification of the creation phase for each element in the building information model (BIM) is manually done by experienced engineers able to integrate technical construction constraints and an appropriate workflow of construction activities. It is a difficult and complex task to be done. Experienced engineers iterate this operation several times until an adequate solution is achieved without real possibility of optimization. The development of an assistance tool to optimize phase identification of BIM elements included in the repetitive floor plan considering varied evaluation criteria and technical construction constraints should lead to significant economic and environmental profits: reduction of needed construction resources and related waste, improvement of construction quality, and better conditions of site safety. The optimization tool presented in this paper provides better solutions for repetitive floor plans specifically through balanced quantities of work hours and a lower quantity of needed formworks. A reduction of around 10% of labour and 25% of non-used formwork is achieved, which significantly improves site safety, productivity, and profitability. The validity of the presented results is substantiated by multiple examples from real construction sites that have been analyzed in this study

Topical tacrolimus 0.1% ointment for treatment of cutaneous Crohn's Disease

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Assessments of Guest Technologies in Five Stars Hotel at Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA)

The purpose of this study is to look at the effects of website management, technology level, and innovation on customer satisfaction in five-star hotels in Aqaba, Jordan. Among the 450 surveys distributed to hotel guests, 235 were filled out completely and returned. To investigate the connections between the variables, an (Smart PLS 4) analysis was used. Website management was shown to have a positive and statistically significant link (T = 2.909, p = 0.004) with customer satisfaction. There was a significant positive link between the hotel technology level and customer happiness (T = 10.160, p 0.001). The research found a statistically significant positive link between innovation and consumer happiness (T = 2.160, p = 0.031). In terms of the moderating effects of innovation, the research discovered that innovation did not substantially modify the link between website management and customer satisfaction (T = 0.636, p = 0.525). The research revealed a substantial moderating effect (T = 2.822, p = 0.005), however innovation was shown to reduce the influence of technology level on consumer satisfaction. In light of these results, it is suggested that the management of five-star hotels in Aqaba place a greater emphasis on better website management techniques and the enhancement of technical services. Furthermore, encouraging innovation should be approached cautiously due to the lack of data on the impact it has on the link between technology and consumer happiness. The findings of this study provide Aqaba hotel managers with useful information for improving guests experiences, which should result in happier visitors who are more likely to return and spread the good news about their stay

How Carbon Nanoparticles, Arbuscular Mycorrhiza, and Compost Mitigate Drought Stress in Maize Plant: A Growth and Biochemical Study

Drought negatively affects crop growth and development, so it is crucial to develop practical ways to reduce these consequences of water scarcity. The effect of the interactive potential of compost (Comp), mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and carbon nanoparticles (CNPS) on plant growth, photosynthesis rate, primary metabolism, and secondary metabolism was studied as a novel approach to mitigating drought stress in maize plants. Drought stress significantly reduced maize growth and photosynthesis and altered metabolism. Here, the combined treatments Com-AMF or Com-AMF-CNPs mitigated drought-induced reductions in fresh and dry weights. The treatments with AMF or CNPS significantly increased photosynthesis (by 10%) in comparison to the control plants. Results show that soluble sugars were accumulated to maintain the osmotic status of the maize plant under drought stress. The level and metabolism of sucrose, an osmo-protectant, were increased in plants treated with Com (by 30%), which was further increased under the triple effect of Com-AMF-CNPs (40%), compared to untreated plants. This was inconsistent with increased sucrose-phosphate synthase and sucrose-P-synthase activity. The combined treatment Com-AMF-CNPs increased the levels of oxalic and succinic acids (by 100%) and has been reflected in the enhanced levels of amino acids such as the antioxidant and omso-protectant proline. Higher increases in fatty acids by treatment with CNPS were also recorded. Com-AMF-CNPs enhanced many of the detected fatty acids such as myristic, palmitic, arachidic, docosanoic, and pentacosanoic (110%, 30%, 100%, and 130%, respectively), compared to untreated plants. At the secondary metabolism level, sugar and amino acids provide a route for polyamine biosynthesis, where Com-AMF-CNPs increased spermine and spermidine synthases, ornithine decarboxylase, and adenosyl methionine decarboxylase in treated maize. Overall, our research revealed for the first time how Cmo, AMF, and/or CNPS alleviated drought stress in maize plants

The Impact of Job Stability, Work Environment, Administration, Salary and Incentives, Functional Justice, and Employee Expectation on the Security Staff’s Desire to Continue Working at the Hotel

Hotels guests and employees have acquired a huge number of studies and research, while the security department staff, who are responsible for the hotels security and customers, did not get the researchers attention. Therefore, the study is conducted to highlight an important section in the hospitality industry that has been neglected. The quantitative approach was utilized to explore the impact of Job Stability, Work Environment, Hotel Administration, Salary and Incentives, Functional Justice, and Employee Expectation on the security staff’s Desire to Continue Working at the hotel. An online questionnaire is designed and sent to the directors of the security department of the hotels. Results revealed that Hotel Administration, Functional Justice, and Employee Expectations impact their desire to continue working at the hotel. The study has contributed theoretically to fill this gap in the literature caused by the scarcity of studies that targeted the work health of the security department staff. The study also contains many practical aspects that help hotel management pay great attention to the hotel security department

The TLR4 D299G and T399I SNPs Are Constitutively Active to Up-Regulate Expression of Trif-Dependent Genes

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Geological and Geotechnical Assessment of Gabal Ataqa Dolostones, for Pavement Construction in Egypt

Aggregate is a collective term for the mineral materials such as sand, gravel and crushed stone. By weight, aggregate generally occupies about 92-96 percent of the hot mix asphalt (HMA), and about 79-85 percent of the Portland cement concrete (PCC). Aggregate is also used for Base and Sub-base courses for both flexible and rigid pavements. This research aims to investigate the geological and geotechnical properties of Gabal Ataqa dolostone for pavement construction projects in Egypt. A total of six dolomite microfacies were recognized and classified according to the dolomite rock classification. The X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that Ataqa dolostones consist mainly of dolomite (89.79%) and calcite (7.74%), while quartz (2.3 %) and halite (0.18 %) were found in small amounts in some samples. Generally Ataqa dolostone is around stoichiometric (50.96%), and may belong to dolomite of late diagentic coarse crystalline dolomite. The chemical investigation showed that the major elements of the investigated dolostone rocks are SiO2 (1.72 %); CaO (32.03%), MgO (19.18%), Fe2O3 (0.22 %), Na2O (0.11%), and Al2O3 (0.05%) while the loss on ignition is about (46.19 %.). The trace elements consist of strontium (116 ppm), barium (14.0 ppm); and very low amount of zirconium (3 ppm). Petrographic, chemical, mineralogical, and compressive strength of Ataqa dolostone rocks beside, geotechnical properties of the produced coarse aggregates were investigated. Los Angeles abrasion, apparent specific gravity, water absorption, disintegration, and stripping were evaluated. The results of the conducted testing indicate that Ataqa dolostone rocks are suitable for road construction and concrete industry.

Involving Nikiforov-Uvarov Method in Schrodinger Equation Obtaining Hartmann Potential

The total wave function and the bound state energy are investigated by involving the Nikiforov-Uvarov method to the Schrodinger equation in spherical coordinates employing Hartmann Potential (HP). The HP is considered as the non-central potential that is mostly recognized in nuclear field potentials. Every wave function is specified by a principal quantum number n, angular momentum number l, and magnetic quantum number m. The radial part of the wave function is obtained in terms of the associated Laguerre polynomial, using the coordinate transformation x=cosθ to obtain the angular wave function that depends on inverse associated Legendre polynomials

Potential molluscicidal activity of the aqueous extracts of some plants and their powders against terrestrial snail Monacha obstructa (L. Pfeiffer, 1842) under laboratory and field conditions

As it is known that the excessive use of pesticides causes many environmental problems, the effects of four aqueous plant extracts and their powders [Solanum nigrum L., Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, Salix mucronata Thunb. and Lawsonia inermis L.] were evaluated as natural molluscicides on the land snail Monacha obstructa (Family: Hygromiidae) under laboratory conditions. Three different bioassay methods were used: contact, leaf-dipping and bait techniques. The results indicated that, using all methods, S. Nigrum extract was the most toxic extract for the terrestrial snail M. obstructa. The contact technique of the tested plant extracts was the most effective method of application compared to other methods. Moreover, using plant extracts was better than using powders of these plants for controlling the terrestrial snail M. obstructa. In addition, the results indicated that the aqueous extract of S. nigrum gave the highest percentage of reduction in the snail population when assessed under field conditions. The obtained data showed that plant extracts were significantly effective against the terrestrial snail and could be used as alternatives to pesticides in integrated pest management

Co-Expression Effect of SLC7A5/SLC3A2 to Predict Response to Endocrine Therapy in Oestrogen-Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer

The majority of breast cancers are oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) and are subject to endocrine therapy however, an unpredictable subgroup of patients will develop resistance to endocrine therapy. SLC7A5/SLC3A2 complex is a major route for the transport of large neutral essential amino acids through the plasma membrane. Alterations in the expression and function of those amino acid transporters lead to metabolic reprogramming, which contributing to the tumorigenesis and drug resistance. This study aims to assess the effects and roles of SLC7A5/SLC3A2 co-expression in predicting response to endocrine therapy in patients with ER+ breast cancer. The biological and clinical impact of SLC7A5/SLC3A2 co-expression was assessed in large annotated cohorts of ER+/HER2- breast cancer with long-term follow-up at the mRNA and protein levels. In vitro experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of SLC7A5/SLC3A2 knockdown in the proliferation of cancer cells and to the sensitivity to tamoxifen. We found that proliferation-related genes are highly expressed in subgroup of patients with high SLC7A5/SLC3A2, and knockdown of SLC7A5/SLC3A2 decreased proliferation of ER+ breast cancer cells. In patients treated with endocrine therapy, high SLC7A5/SLC3A2 co-expression was associated with poor patient outcome, and depletion of SLC7A5/SLC3A2 using siRNA increased the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to tamoxifen. On the basis of our findings, SLC7A5/SLC3A2 co-expression has the potential of identifying a subgroup of ER+/HER2- breast cancer patients who fail to benefit from endocrine therapy and could guide the choice of other alternative therapy