Integration strategies for advanced construction technologies in the US AECO industry

Advanced Construction Technologies (ACTs) have fundamentally altered the way the US Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) industry operates. Over the past few decades, the US AECO industry has undergone a technological awakening, which promises to improve project quality and efficiency in a multitude of ways. The shift towards technology adoption began with Building Information Modeling (BIM), which for many years struggled to gain acceptance due to a largely ad-hoc integration strategy for organizations. As technologies continue to emerge and develop beyond, and in parallel with BIM, there are no tools available to help evaluate, plan and integrate such advancements in US AECO workflows. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with US AECO industry technology experts to establish a cursory list of the factors which impede or promote the successful integration of ACTs. These factors were evaluated, ranked and rated through a Delphi study, conducted with a panel of industry experts who at the time specialized or leveraged ACTs. A novel continuously iterative Delphi platform was deployed to gain the requisite expert input for the importance rating and impact ranking for each of the factors cited as influential in technology integration. The collected data was used to help bridge the identified gap between ACT development and successful integration of ACTs into US AECO industry workflows. Within the context of existing technology integration theories, this study identifies and evaluates factors which influence technological integration success within the US AECO industry. This study begins the process of establishing a foundation of understanding as it relates to meaningful ACT integration.

A Subconscious Ascent: Exploring the Architecture of the Metaphoric Staircase

<p>This research explores the significance of the stair as a spatial and symbolic architectural experience. The stepped form integrated with architecture. The stair is an integral feature of architecture which has the potential to be specifically designed to enhance space and create particular experiences. A stair is not only a functional object, but a medium for design. Metaphorical staircases are absent in contemporary architecture as a loss of meaning has resulted in monotonous designs devoid of figurative or poetic significance. The staircase has been a fundamental component of architecture since Neolithic times, however has recently been neglected. The stepped form has represented many themes including hierarchy, transcendence, or authority. In contrast, the contemporary staircase has embraced pragmatics. Safety restrictions, efficiency, and budget constraints, result in disregard for aesthetics and meaning. Film provides a behavioural setting in which to analyse how people move, behave, interact, and experience staircases. A range of films will be analysed to identify techniques for meaningful stair design. The influence of surreal qualities will also be determined to enhance an experience. Surreal imagery offers the opportunity to create dreamlike space, activating the subconscious. The metaphoric connotations of staircases will be explored through six research categories; the stair as Symbolic, Illusive, Transitional, Kinetic, Psychological, and Iconic. Design case studies will then investigate the intersection of the staircase as architecture, filmic representation, and surreal experience. The stepped building Casa Malaparte in Italy acts as a reference model for the successful integration of these concepts. With influence of these themes, the staircase can once again become widely acknowledged as architecture.</p>

A Subconscious Ascent: Exploring the Architecture of the Metaphoric Staircase

<p>This research explores the significance of the stair as a spatial and symbolic architectural experience. The stepped form integrated with architecture. The stair is an integral feature of architecture which has the potential to be specifically designed to enhance space and create particular experiences. A stair is not only a functional object, but a medium for design. Metaphorical staircases are absent in contemporary architecture as a loss of meaning has resulted in monotonous designs devoid of figurative or poetic significance. The staircase has been a fundamental component of architecture since Neolithic times, however has recently been neglected. The stepped form has represented many themes including hierarchy, transcendence, or authority. In contrast, the contemporary staircase has embraced pragmatics. Safety restrictions, efficiency, and budget constraints, result in disregard for aesthetics and meaning. Film provides a behavioural setting in which to analyse how people move, behave, interact, and experience staircases. A range of films will be analysed to identify techniques for meaningful stair design. The influence of surreal qualities will also be determined to enhance an experience. Surreal imagery offers the opportunity to create dreamlike space, activating the subconscious. The metaphoric connotations of staircases will be explored through six research categories; the stair as Symbolic, Illusive, Transitional, Kinetic, Psychological, and Iconic. Design case studies will then investigate the intersection of the staircase as architecture, filmic representation, and surreal experience. The stepped building Casa Malaparte in Italy acts as a reference model for the successful integration of these concepts. With influence of these themes, the staircase can once again become widely acknowledged as architecture.</p>

Successful integration of interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation and spinal cord stimulation for chronic naive back pain

Spinal cord stimulation for naive back pain is a therapeutic option that is rarely considered, especially when conventional stimulation parameters are used. Interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation program is another less feasible but effective therapeutic approach for the management of chronic pain that is not usually used in conjunction with interventional procedures.This case report presents a successful integration of an interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation program with an interventional procedure spinal cord stimulation using conventional stimulation parameters in a patient with chronic, predominantly nociceptive to nociplastic, naïve back pain.

Teachers' Successful Information and Communication Technology Integration in Primary School

Despite extensive research on ICT integration among teachers, limited knowledge was given to understand the successful integration of ICT among teachers. For those purposes, a single-case study aimed to explain the successful integration of ICT by teachers into teaching in one national primary school in Malaysia. Data were collected using multi-method of data collection including in-depth interviews, non-participants observations, and document analysis. The results discovered three models that lead to teachers' successful ICT integration in teaching, explaining how the interactions between the contradictions, causes of contradictions, and resolutions of contradictions have hindered or influenced the teachers to integrate ICT in their teaching. The findings indicate the activity system of department and school (prior activities) influencing activity system of the classroom (recent activity), led to the successful integration of ICT by teachers in teaching.

Novel LaAOx/g-C3N4 (A = V, Fe, Co) Heterojunctions with Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Norfloxacin under Visible Light

In this study, novel photocatalysts LaAOx/g-C3N4 (A = V, Fe, Co) were prepared by the hydrothermal method, through which LaAOx and g-C3N4 were mixed and ultrasonically oscillated to gain heterojunction catalysts. All the samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, FT-IR, XPS, DRS, and PL to ensure the successful integration of LaAOx with g-C3N4. The obtained results showed that LaAOx/g-C3N4 (A = V, Fe, Co) could effectually improve the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers during the photodegradation process, thus improving the photodegradation efficiency, while among them, LaFeO3/g-C3N4 showed the best photocatalytic performance and degradation of norfloxacin under visible light, reaching up to 95% in 180 min, which was 9.32 times higher than pristine g-C3N4. From the discussed results above, the possible mechanism of the photodegradation process was put forward. This study supplies a promising method to gain g-C3N4-based photocatalysts for antibiotics removal.

A Synthetic Hydrogel, VitroGel® ORGANOID-3, Improves Immune Cell-Epithelial Interactions in a Tissue Chip Co-Culture Model of Human Gastric Organoids and Dendritic Cells

Immunosurveillance of the gastrointestinal epithelium by mononuclear phagocytes (MNPs) is essential for maintaining gut health. However, studying the complex interplay between the human gastrointestinal epithelium and MNPs such as dendritic cells (DCs) is difficult, since traditional cell culture systems lack complexity, and animal models may not adequately represent human tissues. Microphysiological systems, or tissue chips, are an attractive alternative for these investigations, because they model functional features of specific tissues or organs using microscale culture platforms that recreate physiological tissue microenvironments. However, successful integration of multiple of tissue types on a tissue chip platform to reproduce physiological cell-cell interactions remains a challenge. We previously developed a tissue chip system, the gut organoid flow chip (GOFlowChip), for long term culture of 3-D pluripotent stem cell-derived human intestinal organoids. Here, we optimized the GOFlowChip platform to build a complex microphysiological immune-cell-epithelial cell co-culture model in order to study DC-epithelial interactions in human stomach. We first tested different tubing materials and chip configurations to optimize DC loading onto the GOFlowChip and demonstrated that DC culture on the GOFlowChip for up to 20 h did not impact DC activation status or viability. However, Transwell chemotaxis assays and live confocal imaging revealed that Matrigel, the extracellular matrix (ECM) material commonly used for organoid culture, prevented DC migration towards the organoids and the establishment of direct MNP-epithelial contacts. Therefore, we next evaluated DC chemotaxis through alternative ECM materials including Matrigel-collagen mixtures and synthetic hydrogels. A polysaccharide-based synthetic hydrogel, VitroGel®-ORGANOID-3 (V-ORG-3), enabled significantly increased DC chemotaxis through the matrix, supported organoid survival and growth, and did not significantly alter DC activation or viability. On the GOFlowChip, DCs that were flowed into the chip migrated rapidly through the V-ORG matrix and reached organoids embedded deep within the chip, with increased interactions between DCs and gastric organoids. The successful integration of DCs and V-ORG-3 embedded gastric organoids into the GOFlowChip platform now permits real-time imaging of MNP-epithelial interactions and other investigations of the complex interplay between gastrointestinal MNPs and epithelial cells in their response to pathogens, candidate drugs and mucosal vaccines.