TOWARDS AN ONTOLOGY-BASED APPROACH TO MEASURING PRODUCTIVITY FOR OFFSITE MANUFACTURING METHOD

The steady decline of manual and skilled trades in the construction industry has increased the recognition of offsite manufacturing (OSM), an aspect of Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) methods as one way to boost productivity and performance. However, existing productivity estimation approaches are carried out in isolation thus limiting the sort of result obtained from such systems. Also, there is yet to be a holistic approach that enables productivity estimation using different metrics and integrates experts’ knowledge to predict productivity and guide decision making at the early development stage of a project. This study aims to develop a method that can be used to generate multiple estimations for all these metrics simultaneously through linking their relationships. An ontology-based knowledge modelling approach for estimating productivity at the production stage for OSM projects is proposed. A case study of panel system offsite is used as a proof-of-concept for data collection and knowledge modelling in an ontology. Results from the study through the use of rules and semantic reasoning retrieved cost estimates and time schedule for a panel system production with considerations for different design choices. It is thus proven that systemising the production process knowledge of OSM methods enables practitioners to make informed choices on product design to best suit productivity requirements. The developed method helps to reduce the level of uncertainty by encouraging measurable evidence and allows for better decision-making on productivity

Letter to the Editor: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 in Libya

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A Semantic Offsite Construction Digital Twin- Offsite Manufacturing Production Workflow (OPW) Ontology

Offsite Manufacturing (OSM) is a modern and innovative method of construction with the potential to adopt advanced factory production system through a more structured workflow, standardised products, and the use of robotics for automation. However, there have been challenges in quantifying improvements from the conventional method, which leads to the low uptake. The concept of a digital twin (DT) is useful for OSM, which enables production to be represented virtually and visually including all activities associated with it, resources, and workflow involved. Thus, essential information in the product development process such as cost, time, waste, and environmental impacts can be assessed. However, the data required to have accurate results and better-informed decision-making come from heterogeneous data formats (i.e. spreadsheets and BIM models) and across different domains. The inclusion of semantic web technologies such as Linked Data (LD) and Web Ontology Language (OWL) models has proven to better address these challenges especially in terms of interoperability and unambiguous knowledge systematisation. Through an extensive systematic literature review followed up by a case study, an ontology knowledge structure representing the production workflow for OSM is developed. A real-life use case of a semi-automated production line of wall panel production is used to test and demonstrate the benefits of the semantic digital twin in obtaining cost and time data of the manufacturing for assessment. Results demonstrated the potential capability and power of capturing knowledge for an ontology to assess production workflow in terms of cost, time, carbon footprint thereby enabling more informed decision making for continuous improvements

Isolation of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria from carpets of mosques in Tripoli, Libya

Objective: Isolation of potentially pathogenic bacteria from carpets in hospitals has been reported earlier, but not from carpets in mosques. The aim of the present study is to determine the pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria that may exist on the carpets of mosques in Tripoli, Libya. Methods: Dust samples from carpets were collected from 57 mosques in Tripoli. Samples were examined for pathogenic bacteria using standard bacteriological procedures. Susceptibility of isolated bacteria to antimicrobial agents was determined by the disc-diffusion method.Results: Of dust samples examined, Salmonella spp. was detected in two samples (3.5%, 1 in group B and 1 in group C1), Escherichia coli in 16 samples (28.1%), Aeromonas spp. in one sample (1.8%), and Staphylococcus aureus in 12 samples (21.1%). Multiple drug resistance was observed in >16.7% of E. coli and in 25% of S. aureus. Conclusion: Contamination of carpets in mosques of Tripoli with antibiotic-resistant pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria may pose a health risk to worshipers, particularly, the very young, the old and the immunecompromised. Worshipers are encouraged to use personal praying mats when praying in mosques.Keywords: pathogenic bacteria; antibiotic resistance; carpets; mosques; Tripoli; Liby

The living space: Psychological well-being and mental health in response to interiors presented in virtual reality

There has been a recent interest in how architecture affects mental health and psychological well-being, motivated by the fact that we spend the majority of our waking time inside and interacting with built environments. Some studies have investigated the psychological responses to indoor design parameters; for instance, contours, and proposed that curved interiors, when compared to angular ones, were aesthetically preferred and induced higher positive emotions. The present study aimed to systematically examine this hypothesis and further explore the impact of contrasting contours on affect, behavior, and cognition. We exposed 42 participants to four well-matched indoor living rooms under a free-exploration photorealistic virtual reality paradigm. We included style as an explorative second-level variable. Out of the 33 outcome variables measured, and after correcting for false discoveries, only two eventually confirmed differences in the contours analysis, in favor of angular rooms. Analysis of style primarily validated the contrast of our stimulus set, and showed significance in one other dependent variable. Results of additional analysis using the Bayesian framework were in line with those of the frequentist approach. The present results provide evidence against the hypothesis that curvature is preferred, suggesting that the psychological response to contours in a close-to-reality architectural setting could be more complex. This study, therefore, helps to communicate a more complete scientific view on the experience of interior spaces and proposes directions for necessary future research

Inducible Clindamycin Resistance among Staphylococci Isolated from Burn Patients

Clindamycin has been used successfully to treat pneumonia and soft-tissue infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. However, inducible clindamycin resistance has been described as a cause of treatment failure of such infections. A total of 159 staphylococcal isolates from different clinical specimens from burn patients in Tripoli Burn Center were tested for inducible clindamycin resistance by the disk-diffusion induction test. Inducible clindamycin resistance was detected in 66.2% of 65 methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates and in none of 55 methicillin-sensitive S. aureus, 10 methicillin-resistant coagulase negative staphylococci and 29 methicllin-sensitive coagulase negative staphylococci isolates. In our setting, clindamycin can be used for the treatment of infections due to staphylococci, but we recommend that staphylococci isolates, particularly methicillin-resistant S. aureus, are tested by the D-test before treatment

Pain management in hospitals: patients’ satisfaction and related barriers

Background: Suboptimal pain control has been frequently reported in healthcare settings and documented to negatively impact patients’ health. Patients’ perception regarding pain management may influence their satisfaction regarding treatment. Objectives: This study focuses on the assessment of patients’ satisfaction regarding pain therapy and defining patient-related barriers for its implication. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two tertiary care hospitals from April till July 2017. A face-to face interview questionnaire was filled regarding pain scores and patients’ attitudes regarding pain management. Both medical and post-surgical adult patients with all types of pain were eligible to participate. A descriptive analysis of patient satisfaction and perceptions regarding pain management was done. Results: Results from 183 participants with a mean age of 49 (SD=17.33) revealed that pain was their main reason for hospitalization (71.6% of the cases). Numeric pain scores were recorded only in 14.2% of the patient medical files. Pain intensity documentation by healthcare professionals was found in 41.5% of the cases, and 7.7% of the patients had to wait for more than 30 minutes before getting the pain medication. Around 85% of the patients were satisfied with their pain management. Patients’ barriers to effective pain therapy were mainly fear of adverse effects, addiction, and additional costs (p<0.05). Conclusions: Pain remains a prevalent problem that requires more efforts for improvement. Our study can effectively serve as a start for larger studies where barriers to pain management can be assessed as an independent variable affecting pain management practice

Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence and Probable Risk Factors in a Sample of Kurdish Women

Objectives: The most common manifestation of pelvic floor dysfunction is urinary incontinence (UI) which affects 15–50% of adult women depending on the age and risk factors of the population studied. The aim of this study was to determine the probable risk factors associated with UI; the characteristics of women with UI; describe the types of UI, and determine its prevalence. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and August 2011, in the Maternity Teaching Hospital of the Erbil Governorate, Kurdistan Region, northern Iraq. It included 1,107 women who were accompanying patients admitted to the hospital. A questionnaire designed by the researchers was used for data collection. A chi-square test was used to test the significance of the association between UI and different risk factors. Binary logistic regression was used, considering UI as the dependent variable. Results: The overall prevalence of UI was 51.7%. The prevalence of stress, urgency, and mixed UI was 5.4%, 13.3% and 33%, respectively. There was a significant positive association between UI and menopause, multiparity, diabetes mellitus (DM), chronic cough, constipation, and a history of gynaecological surgery, while a significant negative association was detected between UI and a history of delivery by both vaginal delivery and Caesarean section. Conclusion: A high prevalence of UI was detected in the studied sample, and the most probable risk factors were multiparity, menopausal status, constipation, chronic cough, and DM

(At)tending to rhizomes: how researching neighbourhood play with children can affect and be affected by policy and practice in transcalar ways in the context of the Welsh Government’s Play Sufficiency Duty

The authors draw on their experiences of researching the Welsh Government’s Play Sufficiency Duty to discuss how the conditions for the Duty itself, its implementation and for children to play out in their neighbourhoods develop in rhizomatic ways that can be both planned and unexpected. Looking at examples of neighbourhood research with children, they suggest four dimensions of children’s participation (as the capacity to affect and be affected): first, seeing playing itself as a mode of participation in the production of public space; second, through participation in research and influencing planning and design at a hyperlocal level; third, through the ways such research affects researchers and others; and fourth, how the stories that emerge from the research spread in rhizomatic ways that affect policy and practice at multiple intra-related scales