Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Benchmarking of Buildability and Construction Performance in Singapore: Is there a Case for Hong Kong?

Abstract This paper investigates what the Best Buildable Design award-winning projects in Singapore have accomplished through the study of key performance indicators. It was found that improved site productivity, shortened project time and reduced construction cost concomitant with manpower savings are generally in tandem with the upward trend of Buildability Scores as calculated based on the Buildable Design Appraisal System (BDAS). The results are persuasive with abundant published data stemming from the award-winning projects. In view of the similarity in the construction environment and success in implementing the BDAS in Singapore, an adapted version called Buildability Assessment Model (BAM) has been developed for adoption in Hong Kong by using local data collected through questionnaire surveys and structured interviews and incorporating more comprehensive assessment criteria. Based on a priori evidence in Singapore, when the BAM is widely used in Hong Kong, it can be reasonably inferred that buildability benchmarks for different types of building projects can be established. Eventually, better project performance in terms of construction time, cost, manpower and productivity in Hong Kong should be achievable when construction stakeholders pay due attention to the buildability of designs.
The effectiveness of using infographics on academic achievement: A meta-analysis and a meta-thematic analysis

This study aims to reinterpret the findings of the studies investigating the effectiveness of using infographics on academic achievement. A mixed methods research design including both quantitative and qualitative sections was adopted on the use of infographics in education. For this purpose, a meta-analysis of 12 empirical studies on the effect of using infographics on academic achievement in education carried out during the period from 2016 to 2021 was conducted. Some moderator analyses such as school grades, implementation period and school subjects in which infographics were used were also conducted to reveal the effectiveness of using infographics in education. The findings suggest that using infographics in education has a positive effect on academic achievement and the effect is at a large level (g =1.599). In terms of moderator analyses, the academic achievement changed according to implementation periods of infographics. The highest effect size was in the “4-5 weeks” group (g = 1.343). The meta-thematic aspect of this study revealed three dimensions of infographics as cognitive contributions, challenges in using and development of infographics and, suggestions for application. More empirical studies are suggested to test the expressed power of infographics as an effective visual communication tool and teaching material.
Side effects of academic engagement? How boys’ and girls’ well-being is related to their engagement and motivational regulation

ABSTRACT While female students are more successful and show more behavioural engagement at school than male students, they also report lower levels of subjective well-being. This study examines how motivational regulation interacts with school engagement in predicting subjective well-being of male and female students. In questionnaire data from a representative sample of Flemish students in the academic track (N = 3452, age 13–14) female students reported lower subjective well-being, more engagement, and more autonomous than controlled motivation compared to male students. Multilevel-analyses, carried out separately for female and male students, revealed that for both genders, subjective well-being was positively associated with engagement and negatively associated with a more controlled than autonomous motivation. For female students only, motivational regulation significantly interacted with engagement in predicting their well-being. The negative association between having more controlled than autonomous motivation and subjective well-being was less strong for female students showing higher school engagement.
Potential Cardiomyopathy in a Mortality Case with COVID-19: A Case Report

Article type: Case Report Background: The current report presents the clinical presentations and paraclinical findings of the second confirmed mortality case of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Qom, Iran, with an emphasis on the results of the direct cardiac consequences of COVID-19 infection. Case Report: A 63-year-old male patient was admitted to the Emergency Department of Kamkar-Arabnia hospital in Qom, with productive coughs, chills, anorexia, and fever. The patient had taken no recent trips and had no exposure to individuals with respiratory symptoms. Pulmonary auscultation and related imaging indicated serious pulmonary involvements. Laboratory findings showed evidence of anemia, uremia, hepatic dysfunction, and cardiac involvement, including electrocardiography changes, cardiac enzyme elevation, and relatively large cardiac space in the chest X-ray. Mortality occurred by cardiopulmonary arrest with a prominent feature of asystole and no little response to long durations of resuscitation which could originate from both acute respiratory distress syndrome as well as direct cardiac involvement. Conclusion: Considering the enormous capability of coronaviruses for miscellaneous pathogenesis and outstanding mortality rate of COVID-19, it is necessary to pay more concentrated attention to the direct cardiac consequences of this disease. Article History: Received: 19 August 2020 Revised: 20 September 2020 Accepted: 21 September 2020
Growth Performance and Cost Benefit Analysis of Clarias Gariepinus Fed with Different Commercial and Compounded Feeds

Growth performance of Clarias.gariepinus fry fed with different feeds were carried out at the Department of Fisheries Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola, Adamawa State Laboratory. The four different feeds were used. Coppens (56%), Multifeeds (45%) and locally compounded feeds of (35%) and (45%) Crude Protein levels respectively. Each fish feed was in triplicate and fifteen fry were stocked in plastic bowls of 40cm x 30cm dimensions. The results obtained indicated an increase in growth parameters for the four treatments. Fry fed with Coppens and Multi-feeds recorded the highest value in the final mean weight (FMW), feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein intake (PI), feed intake (FI) but the two compounded feeds had the least value for specific growth rate (SGR), while there was no significant difference in survival rate from the four treatments. Multi-feeds had the best cost benefit, followed by Coppens and compounded feeds respectively.
Contemporary performance measurement and management (PMM) in digital economies

Abstract The rate of change in the world is increasing both in scope and magnitude by rapidly developing digital technologies. The challenging problem for performance measurement and management (PMM) in the digital era is twofold: firstly, the constant change in the external environment is compelling PMM to be more dynamic. Secondly, organisations have to deal with different varieties and volumes of data to create competitive advantage. The aim of this paper is to explore how PMM models and practices should be renovated to be resilient and reflect advances in the digital economies. Literature review on the state of the art was conducted covering the issues faced by organisations in the digital economies and their relevance to PMM. A case study was conducted to explore the practitioner perceptions of dealing with the issues faced in digital economies as well as to understand how they are making changes to their PMM. The key findings from the study include: (1) Organisations should refocus their measurement efforts to incorporate evaluation of their performance over a wider network involving various stakeholders. (2) Organisations need to understand how technological developments could create competitive advantage through their strategy and deploy it to relevant positivistic and behavioural measures.
Building performance evaluation and certification in the UK: a critical review of SAP?

Improving the efficiency and performance of the UK residential sector is now necessary for meeting future energy and climate change targets. Building Performance Evaluation and Certification (BPEC) tools are vital for estimating and recommending cost effective improvements to building energy efficiency and lowering overall emissions. In the UK, building performance is estimated using the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) for new dwellings and Reduced SAP (RdSAP) for existing dwellings. Using a systems based approach we show there are many opportunities for improving the effectiveness of BPEC tools. In particular, if the building stock is going to meet future energy and climate change targets the system driving building energy efficiency will need to become more efficient. In order to achieve this goal, building performance standards across Europe are compared highlighting the most effective strategies where they are found. It is shown that the large variance between estimated and actual energy performance from dwellings in the UK may be preventing the adoption of bottom-up energy efficiency measures. We show that despite popular belief, SAP and RdSAP do not estimate building energy efficiency but instead attempt to estimate the cost-effective performance of a building and thus create perverse incentives that may lead to additional CO2 emissions. In this regard, the SAP standard confounds cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency and environmental performance giving an inadequate estimate of all three policy objectives. Important contributions for improving measurement, analysis, synthesis and certification of building performance characteristics are offered.
Kinetic Analysis of Pyrolysis and Thermo-Oxidative Decomposition of Tennis String Nylon Wastes

Thermal degradation of nylon-6 tennis string nylon wastes in inert nitrogen and air atmospheres was investigated by means of multiple heating-rate thermogravimetric analyses. The results obtained under the heating rates of 5–20 K/min are compared in terms of degradation feature and specific temperature for two atmospheres. Using nonisothermal data, kinetic analysis was thoroughly conducted using various isoconversional model-free methods, including Starink, Madhusudanan–Krishnan–Ninan, Tang, Coats–Redfern, and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa methods. With these kinetic analysis methods, the activation energy over the entire degradation process was successfully calculated. By means of the model-fitting master-plots method, the first-order chemical reaction model was determined to be the most appropriate mechanism function for describing pyrolysis and oxidative thermal degradation of nylon-6 waste. Using kinetic parameters, satisfactory matching against experimental data resulted using the Coats–Redfern method for both cases. Furthermore, thermodynamic parameters such as changes in entropy, enthalpy, and Gibbs free energy during thermal degradation processes were evaluated.
True orthophoto generation

T hroughout this Bachelor thesis methods for generating true orthophoto imagery from aerial and satellite imagery and based on digital elevation models are investigated, compared and an application for generating true orthophotos developed. New developments in image and digital processing still increase the interest in orthophotos. The opportunity for imagery with greater detail and resolution results in the demand for greater quality and accuracy of the orthophoto. But the orthophoto reaches the end of the line due to its limitations. Rough terrain or signiﬁcant diﬀerence in elevation leads to inconsistency in accuracy and scale. Therfore new methods and algorithms to overcome these limitations are required. Accurate true orthophotos fullﬁll all the requirements, but most of the existing approaches to generate true orthophotos imply a 3D model of the desired earth surface area, which is very time and cost-intensive in the generation process. To generate true orthophotos fast and cheap, the German Aerospace Center takes another route and wants to extend their existing image processing software by true orthophoto generation based on fully automated generated elevation models. The four general steps of the true orthophoto generation process are rectiﬁcation of the source images and locating as well as marking occluded areas, due to diﬀerences in elevation and inconsistency in accuracy and scale, followed by seamline placement combined with mosaicking and feathering. To rectify the images is found to be the most crucial part of the process. The overall goals of this thesis are to devise a method to create true orthophoto, investigate problems and solutions for generating orthophotos, implement methods that are capable to create true orthophoto imagery, optimized regarding quality and computing time, fully automated and evaluate the solutions through developed test methods. The result shows that the implemented methods give reasonable results in a noticeable time.
Framing software reuse - lessons from real world

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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA

This paper examines occupational health and safety in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. The objectives of the study are to investigate the various types of hazards that oil workers are exposed to, the effects of these hazards on the health of the workers, the effectiveness of the existing means of mitigating these hazards, and the adequacy of the legislation that impacts on the provision of occupational health and safety in the oil gas industry in the country. In the course of the study, two hundred and seventeen (217) workers in the oil and gas industry were randomly selected for the purpose of questionnaire administration. Analysis of data was carried out using the SPSS. The results showed that workers are exposed to various hazards in their workplaces. The paper therefore, recommends the provision of fire extinguishers in workplaces, health assessment of all workers, the provision of appropriate health facilities and the enforcement and strengthening of existing legislation to mitigate these hazards.
Unipolar charging of insulating spheres in rectified AC electric fields

Nonfiltered rectifiers and pulsed power supplies are often used for the energization of the high-voltage electrodes in various electrostatic installations. The aim of this paper is to investigate the ionic charging of insulating particles in the pulsatory electric fields specific to such applications. In a first set of numerical simulations, the space charge was considered constant in time, which means that the ion generation is not related to the voltage drop between the electrodes. A second set of simulations was carried out using the assumption that the space charge is generated by the pulsed corona from one of the electrodes. The computed results, which were found in good agreement with the experimental data, show that the amount of charge acquired by a particle depends on the following factors: (1) particle transit time through the electric field zone; (2) space charge density; and (3) ratio between the corona onset voltage and the amplitude of the variable voltage applied to the electrodes. These factors are discussed in correlation with the operating parameters of roll-type corona-electrostatic separators, but the conclusions are valid for a wider group of industry applications.
Submerged Eutectic-Assisted, Solvent-Free Mechanochemical Formation of a Propranolol Salt and Its Other Multicomponent Solids

Salt preparation via a solid-state reaction offers a solution to challenges posed by current pharmaceutical research, which include combining development of novel forms of active pharmaceutical ingredients with greener, sustainable synthesis. This work investigated in detail the mechanism of salt formation between propranolol (PRO) and capric acid (CAP) and explored the solid eutectic phases comprising this salt, propranolol caprate (PRC). The salt structure was solved by X-ray diffraction, and the properties in the crystalline and supercooled states were fully characterised using thermal analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS). PRC forms via a submerged eutectic phase composed of PRO and CAP, below room temperature, by mechanochemistry without an extra input of energy. Two other solid eutectic phases are composed of PRC and either CAP or PRO, at 0.28 and 0.82 mol fraction of PRO, respectively. BDS indicated that the supercooled PRC has ionic character, whereas the supercooled PRC-PRO eutectic had predominantly non-ionic properties despite comprising the salt. In conclusion, knowledge of the mechanism of formation of multicomponent systems can help in designing more sustainable pharmaceutical processes.
Information and Communication Technology in Development: Cases from India

This book documents the successful use of information and communication technology (ICT) in rural development. The book begins with an introductory chapter that traces the history of ICT use in rural India, examines some of the problems that have afflicted the implementation of rural development programmes, at the same time showing how ICT applications could help overcome them, assesses the early efforts in ICT use, and proposes a scheme by which to classify ICT applications. Written by administrators who lead projects in their areas, sixteen case studies follow, which spell out the various applications of ICT that have made a difference in the delivery of services or products in rural India. Among the services covered are health care, milk distribution, disaster management, postal services, telephones, and services for the disabled. These applications of ICT cover the use of simple and inexpensive technologies at one end, and sophisticated satellite-based communication at the other. An important collection that delineates the main elements of a strategy that can be used by governmental agencies to derive maximum developmental impact from investments in ICT
DAMAGE FUNCTION OF RUBBLE-MOUND BREAKWATERS

The results of model experiments on rubble-mound breakwaters are presented. Emphasis was placed on the determination of the damage function for both perpendicular and oblique wave attack. The experiments were restricted to straight seaward slopes, 1:1.5,1:2, and 1:3 and angles of wave incidence 0○ (perpendicular attack), 30○, 45○, 60○, and 90○. No overtopping occurred. The diameter of the stones used in the tests was about 1 cm. From the results of the tests for perpendicular wave attack it followed that the shape of the damage curve varied with the breakwater slope. The tests for oblique wave attack indicated that it seems wise not to count on much reduction in stone weight, if any, for angles of wave incidence smaller than 45○. A comparison with previously published data on breakwater stability revealed a considerable scale effect due to the small stone sizes used in the model tests.
Modeling of in-band crosstalk in WDM optical networks

In this paper, we analyze three different simulation models which allow the impact of in-band crosstalk on the transmission performances of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) optical networks to be evaluated: an accurate simulation (AS), a Gaussian correlated noise (GCN) model, and a Gaussian white noise (GWN) model. In the AS, an interfering channel is generated at each node and added to the signal after an optical filtering. The final result must be averaged with respect to the message transmitted on the interfering channels and to the phases of the optical carriers. In the GCN the crosstalk term is modeled as a Gaussian correlated noise, whose spectrum coincides with that of the interfering channel. This model can be further simplified if the noise is also assumed uncorrelated (GWN approximation). The results obtained by these simulation models are also compared with those produced by an analytical model allowing to evaluate the in-band crosstalk penalty.
The Influence of Mental Imagery Expertise of Pen and Paper Players versus Computer Gamers upon Performance and Electrocortical Correlates in a Difficult Mental Rotation Task

We investigated the influence of mental imagery expertise in 15 pen and paper role-players as an expert group compared to the gender-matched control group of computer role-players in the difficult Vandenberg and Kuse mental rotation task. In this task, the participants have to decide which two of four rotated figures match the target figure. The dependent measures were performance speed and accuracy. In our exploratory investigation, we further examined midline frontal theta band activation, parietal alpha band activation, and parietal alpha band asymmetry in EEG as indicator for the chosen rotation strategy. Additionally, we explored the gender influence on performance and EEG activation, although a very small female sample section was given. The expected gender difference concerning performance accuracy was negated by expertise in pen and paper role-playing women, while the gender-specific difference in performance speed was preserved. Moreover, gender differences concerning electro-cortical measures revealed differences in rotation strategy, with women using top-down strategies compared to men, who were using top-down strategies and active inhibition of associative cortical areas. These strategy uses were further moderated by expertise, with higher expertise leading to more pronounced activation patters, especially during successful performance. However, due to the very limited sample size, the findings of this explorative study have to be interpreted cautiously.
16% external quantum efficiency from planar microcavity LEDs at 940nm by precise matching of cavity wavelength

High efficiency substrate emitting microcavity InGaAs/(Al)GaAs 3 QW LEDs are reported. The use of regrowth for cavity resonance tuning and its effect on device performance, are demonstrated. The best results obtained include external quantum efficiencies of 16%. At 5 mA, 1 mW of optical power is delivered with an intensity of 280 µW/sr.