Process transparency on construction sites : examples from construction companies in Brazil

Process transparency is the core concept in Visual Management (VM), which is one of the founding blocks of the Toyota Production System. This paper presents the preliminary results of a collaborative research conducted between Brazil and the UK, as part of a research effort focused on the application of Visual Management in construction. How process transparency is realized on construction sites is the main research question of the paper. The use of this concept and the implementation of the transparency theory were investigated through multiple case studies, carried out in nine different construction companies. The findings are explained through six theoretical transparency increasing approaches. The affecting parameters in the application of, the management’s perception of and several methods in process transparency in construction were identified. Further work, especially exploring the functions of process transparency on construction sites and reflecting the worker perception of the issue, is necessary to elaborate the process transparency concept

Modelling thermal energy storage by adsorption

Papers presented to the 11th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, South Africa, 20-23 July 2015.In this paper, thermal energy storage by using adsorption of moisture from air for application of space heating is discussed. We were able to achieve energy storage capacities of 200-250 kWh/m3 in a lab scale applications. Mechanistic modelling of the process has been developed. This energy storage technology can be used for solar thermal systems, as well as for systems that have low quality excess thermal energy. Although the results obtained so far are applied to space heating, this technology can also be used for space cooling. Recent results obtained for experiments carried out under different operating conditions are discussed in this paper, together with the results obtained for the verification of the mathematical model.am201

Deep Over-sampling Framework for Classifying Imbalanced Data

Class imbalance is a challenging issue in practical classification problems for deep learning models as well as traditional models. Traditionally successful countermeasures such as synthetic over-sampling have had limited success with complex, structured data handled by deep learning models. In this paper, we propose Deep Over-sampling (DOS), a framework for extending the synthetic over-sampling method to exploit the deep feature space acquired by a convolutional neural network (CNN). Its key feature is an explicit, supervised representation learning, for which the training data presents each raw input sample with a synthetic embedding target in the deep feature space, which is sampled from the linear subspace of in-class neighbors. We implement an iterative process of training the CNN and updating the targets, which induces smaller in-class variance among the embeddings, to increase the discriminative power of the deep representation. We present an empirical study using public benchmarks, which shows that the DOS framework not only counteracts class imbalance better than the existing method, but also improves the performance of the CNN in the standard, balanced settings

Imaging Evidence for Cerebral Hyperperfusion Syndrome after Intravenous Tissue Plasminogen Activator for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background. Cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (CHS), a rare complication after cerebral revascularization, is a well-described phenomenon after carotid endarterectomy or carotid artery stenting. However, the imaging evidence of CHS after intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (iv tPA) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) has not been reported. Case Report. Four patients were determined to have manifestations of CHS with clinical deterioration after treatment with iv tPA, including one patient who developed seizure, one patient who had a deviation of the eyes toward lesion with worsened mental status, and two patients who developed worsened hemiparesis. In all four patients, postthrombolysis head CT examinations were negative for hemorrhage; CT angiogram showed patent cervical and intracranial arterial vasculature; CT perfusion imaging revealed hyperperfusion with increased relative cerebral blood flow and relative cerebral blood volume and decreased mean transit time along with decreased time to peak in the clinically related artery territory. Vascular dilation was also noted in three of these four cases. Conclusions. CHS should be considered in patients with clinical deterioration after iv tPA and imaging negative for hemorrhage. Cerebral angiogram and perfusion studies can be useful in diagnosing CHS thereby helping with further management

Hydrostatic pressure does not cause detectable changes to survival of human retinal ganglion

Purpose: Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a major risk factor for glaucoma. One consequence of raised IOP is that ocular tissues are subjected to increased hydrostatic pressure (HP). The effect of raised HP on stress pathway signaling and retinal ganglion cell (RGC) survival in the human retina was investigated. Methods: A chamber was designed to expose cells to increased HP (constant and fluctuating). Accurate pressure control (10-100mmHg) was achieved using mass flow controllers. Human organotypic retinal cultures (HORCs) from donor eyes (<24h post mortem) were cultured in serum-free DMEM/HamF12. Increased HP was compared to simulated ischemia (oxygen glucose deprivation, OGD). Cell death and apoptosis were measured by LDH and TUNEL assays, RGC marker expression by qRT-PCR (THY-1) and RGC number by immunohistochemistry (NeuN). Activated p38 and JNK were detected by Western blot. Results: Exposure of HORCs to constant (60mmHg) or fluctuating (10-100mmHg; 1 cycle/min) pressure for 24 or 48h caused no loss of structural integrity, LDH release, decrease in RGC marker expression (THY-1) or loss of RGCs compared with controls. In addition, there was no increase in TUNEL-positive NeuN-labelled cells at either time-point indicating no increase in apoptosis of RGCs. OGD increased apoptosis, reduced RGC marker expression and RGC number and caused elevated LDH release at 24h. p38 and JNK phosphorylation remained unchanged in HORCs exposed to fluctuating pressure (10-100mmHg; 1 cycle/min) for 15, 30, 60 and 90min durations, whereas OGD (3h) increased activation of p38 and JNK, remaining elevated for 90min post-OGD. Conclusions: Directly applied HP had no detectable impact on RGC survival and stress-signalling in HORCs. Simulated ischemia, however, activated stress pathways and caused RGC death. These results show that direct HP does not cause degeneration of RGCs in the ex vivo human retina

Synthesis of structured filamentous zeolite materials via ZSM-5 coating of glass fiber supports

Structured filamentous zeolitic materials were prepd. by depositing ZSM-5 coatings on glass fiber supports. A homogeneous coverage of the support filaments was obtained by prepg. MFI crystals in F-contg. media at neutral pH. The samples were characterized by BET, XRD and SEM. The gas-phase partial oxidn. of benzene by N2O to phenol was investigated as a function of the chem. compn. of the support and the ZSM-5 synthesis procedure. The fluorinated zeolitic materials demonstrated the highest activity (>20% benzene conversion) with 97% selectivity to phenol. [on SciFinder (R)

The prevalence and consequences of burnout on a group of preclinical dental students

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of burnout among a group of Turkish preclinical dental students, to compare the level of burnout and to determine the consequences in structural equation model. Materials and Methods: Preclinical dental students (n = 329, 50.5% of females and 49.5% of males) aged between 18 and 24 took part in the study. Maslach burnout inventory student version, academic satisfaction scale, and personal information sheet were used to gather data. Pearson correlation analyses, t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used for statistical analysis. The proposed theoretical model was tested via observed variable path analysis using maximum likelihood parameter estimation with AMOS 7.0. Results: About 22.3% of students had high level of emotional exhaustion, 16.7% of students had high level of cynicism, and 17.9% of students suffered from high level of reduced academic efficacy. While the students attending the first grade reported higher level of reduced academic efficacy, the students in the third grade reported higher level of emotional exhaustion. Academic workload played an important role in the development of burnout. As consequences of burnout, students with high levels of burnout intended to change their current major and did not to plan to continue to postgraduate education. Students with high level of burnout reported less level of academic satisfaction and academic achievement. Conclusions: Creating awareness on the burnout of dental students from the preclinical period may be useful for prevention and more compatible dental education environment. © 2015 European Journal of Dentistry

Visual Management (VM) supporting collaborative practices in infrastructure engineering design

Managing the design of complex engineering systems requires an organisational structure and an information system to support collaboration among all stakeholders. Technological developments in information management have the potential to facilitate interactions across physical boundaries, even more during the Covid-19 pandemic. Visual Management (VM) is an information management strategy, as well as a means for communication between individuals, supporting collaborative work. However, there is a lack of effective understanding of how digital VM can support infrastructure engineering design. The adoption of digital collaborative VM in the context addressed is new, under rapid evolution, and there is limited understanding of how the users embrace VM while interacting with it. The aim of the paper is to explore the adoption of VM, focusing on digital whiteboards, to support collaborative practices in design processes. The ongoing investigation is carried out in collaboration with an infrastructure design and consultancy company, and follows the action research approach. The VM effectiveness was investigated by analysing the whiteboards applicability to diverse functions and comparing digital and manual implementations. Initial findings include understanding digital whiteboards as a means for collaboration among individuals with different perceptions to establish a common point of view, as it allows the information to be transferred across time and space, identifies abnormalities, and supports problem-solving. By creating a common ground, it has the potential to support complex and emergent interactions in the collaborative space

The study of dynamic singularities of seismic signals by the generalized Langevin equation

Analytically and quantitatively we reveal that the generalized Langevin equation (GLE), based on a memory function approach, in which memory functions and information measures of statistical memory play a fundamental role in determining the thin details of the stochastic behavior of seismic systems, naturally leads to a description of seismic phenomena in terms of strong and weak memory. Due to a discreteness of seismic signals we use a finite-discrete form of the GLE. Here we studied some cases of seismic activities of Earth ground motion in Turkey with consideration of the complexity, nonergodicity and fractality of seismic signals. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved