An input-output table perspective on measuring construction productivity

In the field of construction economics, input-output analysis based studies\u27 have attracted a lot of interest from the academics and researchers. The wide efforts are to carry out analyses and comparisons of economic indicators in construction sectors across countries and years. There has been little research modelling the construction productivity using input-output tables. This research takes advantage of the input-output analysis to develop a perspective for determining the productivity of an industrial sector. The developed quantitative formulas are fully based on the economic indicators generated from an input-output table. Using the newly published OECD input-output database, historical analyses and comparisons are carried out to indicate the differences of prod uctivi ties of the construction sectors in Australia and Japan.<br /

Development of a web-based information system for cascading utilisation of construction materials

This paper presents a Web-based information system for promoting the cascading utilisation of construction materials in order to mitigate the increasing environmental pressure by the construction industry. First, this paper points out me weaknesses of current waste material exchange systems. Then, a new approach is introduced to reuse demolished materials, by which the utilisation of demolished materials may be ascertained before the demolition is actually produced.. Information technologies, including web-based intelligent and distributed systems, are applied to actua1ise this approach. Finally, the development and implementation of the system is described in detail.<br /

Expression of an oncogenic mutant Gαi2 activates Ras in Rat-1 fibroblast cells

AbstractIt has been reported that expression of the active mutant of heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein α subunit Gαi2 transforms Rat-1 cells. However, the Gαi2-mediated mitogenic signaling pathways remain to be elucidated. Here, we demonstrate that inducible expression of the active mutant of Gαi2 (Gαi2(Q205L)) activates Ras and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in addition to extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in Rat-1 cells. Our findings suggest that Ras may play a critical role in the Gαi2-induced transformation and Gαi2 can transduce signals from the Gi-coupled receptor to JNK and ERK in certain types of mammalian cells

Database for structural steel experiments under a distributed collaboration environment

Due to the high requirements of civil infrastructures against the earthquake in Japan, a great number of research organizations have been conducting the structural steel experiments, in particular the seismic tests such as the cyclic loading test and the pseudo-dynamic test, for many years to determine the seismic performances of steel structures. However, the original test data gained by most research organizations are not well stored in an appropriate manner for distribution and possible usage of others. Although a Numerical Database of Steel Structures (NDSS) was developed some years ago to preserve and share experimental data of the ultimate strength tests acquired at Nagoya University, it was not easy to access this database from other computer platform due to the lack of the support of proper communication media. With the rapid development of information networks and their browsers, structural engineers and researchers are able to exchange various types of test data through Internet. This paper presents the development of a distributed collaborative database system for structural steel experiments. The database is made available on the World-Wide Web, and the Java language enables the interactive retrieval efficiently. The applications of the developed database system for the retrieval of experimental data and seismic numerical analysis are validated in the form of examples.<br /

Critical operational management in international construction

The construction activities of a contractor may physically take place in the home country or overseas, and the latter, particularly of a large company, has an increasing proportion with the globalisation. Globalisation of the construction industry and its market is a trend in every country, Which increases the opportunities of both international construction, and competition or collaboration with foreign construction companies. International construction project management is undertaken in a complicated circumstance, and requires a synthetic management approach. This research aims to establish a primary framework for the critical operational management in achieving international construction projects in a novel construction market.<br /

Development of a multimedia data acquisition toolkit and its application for exchanging demolished materials

In the development of a web-based information system such as a demolition material management system, a great amount of diversified information on projects should be acquired from particular users located with various computer platforms. This issue is difficult to handle using the limited HTTP form submission, which could lead to inaccuracy of the information and inefficiency of the whole system. This paper describes a web-based graphical user interfaced, dynamic and distributed multimedia data acquisition mechanism, which accepts users\u27 drawings and retrieval information from the canvas and stores the multimedia data on a server for further usages. Furthermore, techniques and principles needed to construct such a multimedia data acquisition tool are addressed in detail. The application of this distributed multimedia tool in developing a web-based demolition material management system is also described.<br /

Large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of lung with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation and co-expression of adenocarcinoma markers: a case report and review of the literature

PURPOSE: A high rate of response to treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) has been observed in certain patients (women, of East Asian ethnicity, with non-smoking history and adenocarcinoma histology) with mutations in exons 18 to 21 of the tyrosine kinase domain of EGFR. Some cases of high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung harboring mutations have been sporadically reported. METHODS: We describe the case of a 78-year-old woman with large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung, with mutation in exon 21 L858R and co-expression of adenocarcinoma markers. RESULTS: A mass (3.0 cm in diameter) was identified in the inferior lobe of the left lung, accompanied by metastases into ipsilateral mediastinal lymph nodes and elevations of serum pro-gastrin-releasing peptide and carcinoembryonic antigen. Initial transbronchial brushing cytology suggested high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma favoring small-cell carcinoma in poorly smeared and degenerated preparations, and revealed exon 21 L858R mutation. Re-enlargement of the cancer and bone metastases was observed after chemotherapy, and further testing suggested large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma with immunoreactivity to markers of primary lung adenocarcinoma and L858R mutation. High-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma with mutations in the tyrosine kinase domain of EGFR may be associated with adenocarcinoma, as reviewed from the literature and may also apply to our case. CONCLUSIONS: EGFR-TKI could provide better quality of life and survival in patients with advanced or relapsed high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma with EGFR gene mutations. Further studies in this respect are warranted

A FORTRAN data processing system for the epidemiological data on rheumatic diseases - Part 1. Basic programs for deposit and retrieval of data

A set of FORTRAN programs for small computer is described for deposit and retrieval of the epidemiological data, which have been compiled at the Kami-hojo-cho district in Feb. 1972and Feb. 1975. A data file is constructed on a magnetic disk. The following items are recorded and registered on the disk for every person: identification number, full name in Japanese alphabet, sex, date of birth, weight, height, blood pressures, chemical characterics of blood serum and urine, and various complaints of clinical significance (fever, morning stiffness, arthralgia, joint swelling, myalgia, cutaneous rash, aphthous stomatitis, dry eyes, dry mouth, joint deformity, subcutaneous nodules, lymph and parotid gland enlargement, struma, heart murmur, and neulogical findings). All information per one person requires only two IBM cards due to compact encoding of original records. The encode-decode procedures are explained also in the text

Lifecycle cost and CO2 emission comparison of conventional and rationalized bridges

The construction industry consumes a great deal of natural resources and energy in constructing, maintaining and demolishing their products such as buildings and bridges. These activities lead significant impacts on global and regional environments in addition to their economic expenses. In this research, the lifecycle cost (LCC) and lifecycle CO2 (LCCO2) emission of newly developed bridges, including the minimized girder, rationalized box-girder and rationalized truss bridges, are quantified and compared with those of the conventional I-girder, box-girder and truss bridges. It was found that the newly developed types of bridges have lower values in both LCC and LCCO2 than the corresponding conventional bridges do. The effects of span lengths on LCC and LCCO2 are studied for both conventional and rationalized bridges. The characteristics of LCC and LCCO2 are investigated over the lifecycle of a bridge including its construction, maintenance and replacement stages.<br /