The advantages of information management through building information modelling

This article was published in the journal, Construction Management [© Taylor & Francis] and the definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2013.777754As building information modelling (BIM) is positioned by governments and construction professionals as a solution to the problems in the construction industry, research is needed into the benefits BIM actually confers. The focus here is on the effectiveness of BIM as a medium for communicating information within a construction team. A case study of an offsite precast concrete fabrication facility was conducted. At the time of the study, the facility was supplying precast units for four public sector projects, and using four information management systems: e-mail, a construction project extranet tool, an Enterprise Resource Planning system and a new BIM-based system. The flow of information through the four media was measured and visualized as the projects progressed. This quantitative measurement of information flow was combined with qualitative data from interviews with facility staff. It was found that the introduction of the BIM-based system diverted information flow through the building model and away from the extranet system. The use of e-mail was largely unaffected. BIM allowed considerably more accurate, on-time and appropriate exchange of information. It is concluded it is possible to quantify some of the benefits of BIM to information management. This research paves the way for future research into the management of more construction project information linked more closely to building models

digital 3d control room for healthcare

The building process is in an evolutionary phase dictated by the constructive innovations and the digital revolution that has involved the tools and the technical and design contents of the entire life cycle of buildings. In this context, the operators of the sector need to develop organizational models capable of protecting and managing the conceptual and scale transition, between the conceptual framework of the architecture and the subsequent ones of construction, use and management. In the development of complex projects the elaboration of the organizational model is in fact fundamental to reach adequate figurative, performance and qualitative levels by incorporating the necessary contents of environmental, economic and management sustainability of buildings. This text illustrates the development of a horizontal organizational model for the smart and dynamic control of complex buildings through the creation of an innovative digital Web-Based platform capable of integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology with a "Facility Management platform". The project involves experimentation applied to a real case involving the restructuring of a complex building

The Association of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy with Metabolic Syndrome is Dependent on Body Mass Index in Hypertensive Overweight or Obese Patients

Overweight (Ow) and obesity (Ob) influence blood pressure (BP) and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). It is unclear whether the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) independently affects echocardiographic parameters in hypertension.380 Ow/Ob essential hypertensive patients (age ≤ 65 years) presenting for referred BP control-related problems. MetS was defined according to NCEP III/ATP with AHA modifications and LVH as LVM/h(2.7) ≥ 49.2 g/m(2.7) in males and ≥ 46.7 g/m(2.7) in females. Treatment intensity score (TIS) was used to control for BP treatment as previously reported.Hypertensive patients with MetS had significantly higher BMI, systolic and mean BP, interventricular septum and relative wall thickness and lower ejection fraction than those without MetS. LVM/h(2.7) was significantly higher in MetS patients (59.14 ± 14.97 vs. 55.33 ± 14.69 g/m(2.7); p = 0.022). Hypertensive patients with MetS had a 2.3-fold higher risk to have LVH/h(2.7) after adjustment for age, SBP and TIS (OR 2.34; 95%CI 1.40-3.92; p = 0.001), but MetS lost its independent relationship with LVH when BMI was included in the model.In Ow/Ob hypertensive patients MetS maintains its role of risk factor for LVH independently of age, SBP, and TIS, resulting in a useful predictor of target organ damage in clinical practice. However, MetS loses its independent relationship when BMI is taken into account, suggesting that the effects on MetS on LV parameters are mainly driven by the degree of adiposity

Multi-scale, whole-system models of liver metabolic adaptation to fat and sugar in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a serious public health issue associated with high fat, high sugar diets. However, the molecular mechanisms mediating NAFLD pathogenesis are only partially understood. Here we adopt an iterative multi-scale, systems biology approach coupled to in vitro experimentation to investigate the roles of sugar and fat metabolism in NAFLD pathogenesis. The use of fructose as a sweetening agent is controversial; to explore this, we developed a predictive model of human monosaccharide transport, signalling and metabolism. The resulting quantitative model comprising a kinetic model describing monosaccharide transport and insulin signalling integrated with a hepatocyte-specific genome-scale metabolic network (GSMN). Differential kinetics for the utilisation of glucose and fructose were predicted, but the resultant triacylglycerol production was predicted to be similar for monosaccharides; these predictions were verified by in vitro data. The role of physiological adaptation to lipid overload was explored through the comprehensive reconstruction of the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPARα) regulome integrated with a hepatocyte-specific GSMN. The resulting qualitative model reproduced metabolic responses to increased fatty acid levels and mimicked lipid loading in vitro. The model predicted that activation of PPARα by lipids produces a biphasic response, which initially exacerbates steatosis. Our data support the evidence that it is the quantity of sugar rather than the type that is critical in driving the steatotic response. Furthermore, we predict PPARα-mediated adaptations to hepatic lipid overload, shedding light on potential challenges for the use of PPARα agonists to treat NAFLD

Analysis Protein Drugs Design Program with Quality and Structure Prediction

A complete lack of hair will result when the "hairless protein" associated with the hairless gene, which is required for hair growth, ceases to function. The coordinates of this gene are 22027873-22045326 on chromosome 8. The JmjC domain superfamily includes the hairless gene, which also contributes to the process of histone demethylation. The domain sequence is 212 amino acids long and spans residue positions 946 to 1157 in the hairless protein, which has 1189 residues. JmjC domains have been discovered in more than 100 eukaryotic and bacterial sequences based on considerable sequence similarity, including the human hairless gene, which is mutated in people with alopecia universalis. To homology model the JmjC domain in the hairless protein, we have tried the bioinformatics method. NCBI-BLASTP, EBIClustalW, SMART, 3D-PSSM, DeepView/Swiss-PDB Viewer, PyMOL, and WhatCheck are the tools and programs utilized in this work. Using the template crystal structure of the likely antibiotic production protein from Thermus thermophilus HB8, the structure of the JmjC domain is predicted. Modeled domain structure's minimized energy value was -3394.570 KJ/mol. The simulated domain structure was validated using the WHAT IF-Proteins Model Check tool

An approach for the interoperation of web-distributed applications with a design model

This paper defines the data and inference requirements for the integration of analysis applications with a product model described by a CAD/CAE application. Application input conditions often require sets of complex data that may be considered views of a product model database. We introduce a method that is compatible with the STEP and PLIB product description standards to define an intermediate model that selects, extracts, and validates views of information from a product model to serve as input for an engineering CAD/CAE application. The intermediate model framework was built and tested in a software prototype, the Internet Broker for Engineering Services (IBES). The first research case for IBES integrates applications that specify certain components, for example pumps and valves, with a CAD/CAE application. This paper therefore explores a sub-set of the general problem of integrating product data semantics between various engineering applications. The IBES integration method provides support for a general set of services that effectively assist interpretation and validate information from a product model for an engineering purpose. Such methods can enable application interoperation for the automation of typical engineering tasks, such as component specification and procurement.

First Drawings, Then Semantics

The Semantic Modelling Extension (SME) prototype implements a unique approach to integrated architectural CAD that places the drawing act first in the design process. After drawing a design idea using a computer graphic system, the designer interprets the design, providing semantic content to the graphic entities. An interpretation expresses the meaning of the design with respect to a particular issue, such as structural sufficiency, energy consumption, or requirements for egress, and provides reasoning to evaluate the design addressing that issue. A design may have many interpretations to express the multiple issues that are relevant in a design project. The designer may add or delete interpretations of the design as issues change during the course of the project. Underlying the SME prototype are the concepts of form, function and behaviour. In the prototype, evaluation of a design is done by deriving behaviour from the graphically represented forms and relating the behaviour to stated functions or requirements. The concepts of interpretations and form, function and behaviour together establish a virtual product model for design. In contrast to component based approaches to product modelling that tightly bind form representations to their behaviour and function, a virtual product model allows the designer to manipulate the relations among these three descriptors of a design, and thus manipulate the semantics of the design entities. By distinguishing between the act of proposing a design by drawing the conceived form and the act of assigning meaning to the form, the virtual product model approach supports both graphic thinking for design synthesis and symbolic reasoning for design evaluation. This paper presents a scenario of the use of the SME prototype in building design, provides an analysis of the design process and computational support described in the scenario, contrasts a virtual product model approach with a component-oriented product model approach, describes the software implementation of SME, and presents implications and conclusions regarding design process and technical integration

Virtual components consisting of form, function and behavior

Software can produce a product model of a building as a consequence of the designers'actions in drawing and evaluating the design. The actions of the designer include interpreting, predicting and assessing the emerging design and describe the building in terms of forms, functions and behaviours. A software prototype has been implemented that incorporates this understanding of the design process in the field of building design. It employs object-oriented classes to represent forms, functions and behaviours. As a software user draws and interprets the design for multiple evaluation issues, the software creates a unique `virtual component'for each entity. During automated reasoning to evaluate the emerging design, virtual components collect and organize form, function and behaviour instances to describe the parts of the building. In comparison to other product models, our approach, which we refer to as a `Virtual Product Model', better accommodates change, provides increased support for the design process and enriches the product representation by including function and behaviour.