J.N. Pires, F.J. Caramelo, P. Brito, J. Santos and M.F. Botelho
Implant surgery is generally accepted as the best technique for complete teeth replacement. However, it is also the most demanding technique to implement and the most onerous to…
Abstract
Purpose
Implant surgery is generally accepted as the best technique for complete teeth replacement. However, it is also the most demanding technique to implement and the most onerous to the client. It would be helpful to reduce costs and simplify procedures in order that the general public could benefit from implant dentistry. This paper reports a robotic system developed with the objective of studying stress/strain distribution caused by implants inserted in blocks of a polymer. The polymer exhibits the same mechanical properties of the human mandible bone.
Design/methodology/approach
The system includes an industrial robot manipulator, a data acquisition board, strain gauges for stress/strain evaluation and a force/torque sensor (equipped with accelerometers) placed on the robot wrist. The objective is to optimize the number of implants and their placement/orientation, contributing in this way to reduce the overall cost of implant surgery. The system is presented in detail and explored for drilling and implant insertion.
Findings
The preliminary results are encouraging and indicate the usefulness of the system. The three presented situations correspond to general clinical procedures and, as can be concluded from the preliminary results, the intensity of the applied forces increase with the inclination of the drilling tool. Since, the depth of the holes is the same, it can be also concluded that the dissipated energy is superior in the 30° hole. Apart from inclination all the other properties remain constant during the force evaluation; therefore, we expected that during the perforation of the 30° hole the temperature should raise more than in the other types of holes. This aspect will be addressed in detail in the near future (just by carefully monitoring the temperature) because living tissues should not be submitted to temperatures greater than 42°C. The observed fluctuation in the modulus of the force during a drilling cycle suggests that the material is not homogeny. The results indicate that the strain is larger in the vertical load. This might be related with the fact that inclined applied forces imply a distribution of the strain/stress forces at least for two directions.
Research limitations/implications
Further work will include more sensors to obtain all the data.
Practical implications
This will be of interest to the implant industry, since low prices will significantly increase the market and consequently the need for implant products. Currently, implant surgery as well as teeth replacements are based on a few general rules that, very often, do not take into account the specific needs of the patient. This happens independently of clinician expertise, which does not have enough biomechanical information to plan the number, location and orientation of implants in a specific surgery. Consequently, in most of the cases the needs are overestimated, to guarantee long‐term success, which implies expensive procedures and more discomfort for patients.
Originality/value
This work reports on a robotic system to simplify implant procedures.
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Paulo Carreira, Tiago Castelo, Cristina Caramelo Gomes, Alfredo Ferreira, Cláudia Ribeiro and Antonio Aguiar Costa
The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of virtual reality environments (VRE) for maintenance activities by augmenting a virtual facility representation and integrating…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of virtual reality environments (VRE) for maintenance activities by augmenting a virtual facility representation and integrating relevant information regarding the status of systems and the space itself, while providing simple ways to control them.
Design/methodology/approach
The research focuses in the implementation of a VRE prototype of a building management system using game engine technologies. To evaluate the prototype, a usability study has been conducted that contrasts the virtual reality interface with a corresponding legacy application showing the users perception in terms of productivity improvement of facilities management (FM) tasks.
Findings
The usability tests conducted indicated that VREs have the potential to increase the productivity in maintenance tasks. Users without training demonstrated a high degree of engagement and performance operating a VRE interface, when compared with that of a legacy application. The potential drop in user time and increase in engagement with a VRE will eventually translate into lower cost and to an increase in quality.
Originality/value
To date no commonly accepted data model has been proposed to serve as the integrated data model to support facility operation. Although BIM models have gained increased acceptance in architecture engineering and construction activities they are not fully adequate to support data exchange in the post-handover (operation) phase. The presented research developed and tested a prototype able to handle and integrate data in a flexible and dynamic way, which is essential in management activities underlying FM.
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Domingo Calvo Dopico and Cristina Calvo Porral
The aim of this research is to identify sources of differentiation in the fashion market as well as finding out sources of brand equity to distinguish the offer, enabling a better…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research is to identify sources of differentiation in the fashion market as well as finding out sources of brand equity to distinguish the offer, enabling a better competitive position to be achieved.
Design/methodology/approach
To reach this objective, qualitative research was first carried out with 36 sector executives. Based on the results from the initial stage, 250 surveys were then carried out with potential consumers in order to analyze sources of brand equity.
Findings
In the fashion industry, the variables that show great potential for differentiation are excellence in the delivered finished product, brand image and design. In addition, loyalty and brand associations, in which image and design stand out, have been shown to be the most outstanding sources of brand equity.
Practical implications
The allocation of financial resources to the intangible assets of brand image and design should be profitable for the company. The creation of networks of designers and stylists would allow first‐hand information on market evolution. This input would be the basis for identifying new opportunities (e.g. fashionable colours, etc.) and also for anticipating new trends in clothing.
Originality/value
Discovering the sources of equity and their contribution to differentiating and developing high added‐value products for the consumer represents an original contribution in research into fashion markets and brand equity.
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W.P.M. De Silva, Suranga Jayasena, Piyumi Thennakoon and B.A.K.S. Perera
The construction industry is responsible for over 30% of natural resource extraction and 25% of global waste generation. Modular construction (MC) offers an opportunity to move…
Abstract
Purpose
The construction industry is responsible for over 30% of natural resource extraction and 25% of global waste generation. Modular construction (MC) offers an opportunity to move towards a circular economy (CE), enhancing the value at the end-of-life stage through reuse and disassembly. However, a gap remains, prohibiting the full realisation of this potential. This study aims to bridge this gap by developing a strategic framework that enhances the end-of-life value of MBs by integrating CE principles by investigating key parameters, identifying relevant CE principles and formulating integration strategies to maximise their effectiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a qualitative research approach, using two Delphi rounds with experts selected through purposive sampling. The qualitative data were analysed using manual content analysis.
Findings
The research identifies six parameters that influence the end-of-life value of MBs and aligns them with suitable CE 9R principles. In total, 41 strategies are provided for integrating these principles with 6 parameters to enhance the end-of-life value of MBs.
Originality/value
The study findings present a systematic approach to integrating CE principles to enhance the end-of-life value of MBs. Identifying specific strategies integrating CE principles for each key parameter distinguishes it from previous research, which often lacks this level of focus on end-of-life parameter-specific strategies. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the practical application of CE concepts in MC. Further, it offers practical strategies for enhancing the end-of-life value of MB to promote a sustainable built environment.
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Ahmed Benamor, Aissa Abidi-Saad, Ridha Mebrouk and Sarra Fatnassi
This study aims at investigating two-dimensional laminar flow of power-law fluids around three unconfined side-by-side cylinders.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims at investigating two-dimensional laminar flow of power-law fluids around three unconfined side-by-side cylinders.
Design/methodology/approach
The numerical study is performed by solving the governing (continuity and momentum) equations using a finite volume-based code ANSYS Fluent. The numerical results have been presented for different combinations of the governing dimensionless parameters (dimensionless spacing, 1.2 = L = 4; Reynolds number, 0.1 = Re = 100; power-law index, 0.2 = n = 1.8). The dependence of the kinematic and macroscopic characteristics of the flow such as streamline patterns, distribution of the surface pressure coefficient, total drag coefficient with its components (pressure and friction) and total lift coefficient on these dimensionless parameters has been discussed in detail.
Findings
It is found that the separation of the flow and the apparition of the wake region accelerate as the dimensionless spacing decreases, the number of the cylinder increases and/or the fluid behavior moves from shear-thinning to Newtonian then to shear-thickening behavior. In addition, the distribution of the pressure coefficient on the surface of the cylinders presents a complex dependence on the fluid behavior index and Reynolds number when the dimensionless spacing between two adjacent cylinders is varied. At low Reynolds numbers, the drag coefficient of shear-thinning fluids is stronger than that of Newtonian fluids; this tendency decreases progressively with increasing of Re until a critical value; beyond the critical Re, the opposite trend is observed. The lift coefficient of the middle cylinder is null, whereas, the exterior cylinders experience opposite lift coefficients, which show a complex dependence on the dimensionless spacing, the Reynolds number and the power-law index.
Originality/value
The flow over bluff bodies is a practical engineering problem. In the literature, it can be seen that the previous studies on non-Newtonian fluids are limited to the flow over one or two cylinders (effect of an odd number of cylinders on each other). Besides that, the available results concerning the flow of Newtonian fluids over three cylinders are limited to the high Reynolds numbers region only. However, this work treats the flow of non-Newtonian power-law fluids past three circular cylinders in side-by-side arrangements under a wide range of Re. The outcome of the present study demonstrates that the augmentation of the geometry complexity to three cylinders (effect of pair surrounding cylinders on the surrounded ones in what concerns Von Karman Street phenomenon) causes a drastic change in the flow patterns and in the macroscopic characteristics. The present results may be used to predict the flow behavior around multiple side-by-side cylinders.
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Don Liu, Hui-Li Han and Yong-Lai Zheng
This paper aims to present a high-order algorithm implemented with the modal spectral element method and simulations of three-dimensional thermal convective flows by using the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a high-order algorithm implemented with the modal spectral element method and simulations of three-dimensional thermal convective flows by using the full viscous dissipation function in the energy equation. Three benchmark problems were solved to validate the algorithm with exact or theoretical solutions. The heated rotating sphere at different temperatures inside a cold planar Poiseuille flow was simulated parametrically at varied angular velocities with positive and negative rotations.
Design/methodology/approach
The fourth-order stiffly stable schemes were implemented and tested for time integration. To provide the hp-refinement and spatial resolution enhancement, a modal spectral element method using hierarchical basis functions was used to solve governing equations in a three-dimensional space.
Findings
It was found that the direction of rotation of the heated sphere has totally different effects on drag, lateral force and torque evaluated on surfaces of the sphere and walls. It was further concluded that the angular velocity of the heated sphere has more influence on the wall normal velocity gradient than on the wall normal temperature gradients and therefore, more influence on the viscous dissipation than on the thermal dissipation.
Research limitations/implications
This paper concerns incompressible fluid flow at constant properties with up to medium temperature variations in the absence of thermal radiation and ignoring the pressure work.
Practical implications
This paper contributes a viable high-order algorithm in time and space for modeling convective heat transfer involving an internal heated rotating sphere with the effect of viscous heating.
Social implications
Results of this paper could provide reference for related topics such as enhanced heat transfer forced convection involving rotating spheres and viscous thermal effect.
Originality/value
The merits include resolving viscous dissipation and thermal diffusion in stationary and rotating boundary layers with both h- and p-type refinements, visualizing the viscous heating effect with the full viscous dissipation function in the energy equation and modeling the forced advection around a rotating sphere with varied positive and negative angular velocities subject to a shear flow.
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John J. Posillico, David J. Edwards, Chris Roberts and Mark Shelbourn
This research aims to present a conceptual model for construction management programme curriculum development from the perspective of higher education institutes (HEIs) and aims…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to present a conceptual model for construction management programme curriculum development from the perspective of higher education institutes (HEIs) and aims to engender wider polemic debate and stimulate new insight into current higher education practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The overarching epistemology adopts both interpretivist and pragmatist philosophical stances, couched within grounded theory, to critically analyse extant literature on construction management curriculum development. Inductive reasoning forms the basis of new emergent theory that maps curriculum development and highlights the external and internal factors impacting upon such.
Findings
Research findings illustrate that the prevailing body of knowledge lacks a cohesive nucleus of research on construction management curriculum development. Rather, bespoke curriculum development research predominates in uncommunicative silos. Premised upon these findings, the conceptual curriculum model developed defines and delineates the universal internal factors (e.g. student marketplace, course leadership and academic precedents) and external factors (e.g. accreditation, construction industry and professional bodies) that impact upon curriculum development. Identification of these factors provides a sound basis upon which further research can be propagated to enhance curriculum development and unify the current disparate approaches adopted.
Originality/value
This novel research highlights the lack of a cohesive agenda for curriculum development within mainstream construction management literature and based upon this, a conceptual model for future empirical analysis and testing is presented.
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Rodrigo Cavalcante Junco, Sarah Morais Senna Prates and Lucilene Rezende Anastácio
This study aims to evaluate the carbohydrate content, ingredient profile and degree of processing of supposedly “low-carb” foods in the Brazilian market.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate the carbohydrate content, ingredient profile and degree of processing of supposedly “low-carb” foods in the Brazilian market.
Design/methodology/approach
Information was collected from physical supermarkets in Divinópolis, Minas Gerais and on websites throughout Brazil between July and September/2020. The carbohydrate content was assessed in g/100 g, and ingredient lists were investigated for the presence of carbohydrate-rich ingredients. The degree of processing of the products was evaluated by NOVA classification to determine whether the term “low carb” had been translated into Portuguese.
Findings
This study evaluated a total number of 164 products, the most frequent were bakery products (34.7%), granola and cereal bars (19.5%) and candies and desserts (14.0%). This claim was also found in low-carb foods such as cheese and chicken. Most food products evaluated (56.0%) were classified as ultra-processed, with the group having the highest carbohydrate content (20.0; 3.0–47.5g/100g), compared to products classified as processed foods (p < 0.01). The ingredient lists showed items rich in carbohydrates, such as cassava and corn derivatives. In 162 products, a low-carb claim was displayed without translation into Portuguese. These data demonstrate that most of these products are ultra-processed and have a high glycidic content.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study was a pioneer investigation of the ingredients of “low-carb” foods, their carbohydrate composition and their degree of processing based on the NOVA classification.
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Breast cancer is an important medical disorder, which is not a single disease but a cluster more than 200 different serious medical complications.
Abstract
Purpose
Breast cancer is an important medical disorder, which is not a single disease but a cluster more than 200 different serious medical complications.
Design/methodology/approach
The new artificial bee colony (ABC) implementation has been applied to probabilistic neural network (PNN) for training and testing purpose to classify the breast cancer data set.
Findings
The new ABC algorithm along with PNN has been successfully applied to breast cancers data set for prediction purpose with minimum iteration consuming.
Originality/value
The new implementation of ABC along PNN can be easily applied to times series problems for accurate prediction or classification.
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The purpose of this paper is to detect spatial-temporal clusters of violence in Gwanak-gu, Seoul with space-time permutation scan statistics (STPSS) and identifies the temporal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to detect spatial-temporal clusters of violence in Gwanak-gu, Seoul with space-time permutation scan statistics (STPSS) and identifies the temporal threshold for such detection to alert law enforcement officers quickly.
Design/methodology/approach
The case study was the Gwanak Police Station Call Database 2017 where civilian calls reporting violence were georeferenced with coordinated points. In analyzing the database, this study used the STPSS requiring only individual case data, such as time and location, to detect clusters of investigated phenomena. This study executed a series of experiments using different minimum and maximum temporal thresholds in detecting clusters of violence.
Findings
Results of the STPSS analyses with different temporal thresholds detected spatial-temporal clusters in Gwanak-gu. Number, location and duration of clusters depended on the temporal settings of the scanning window. Among four models, a model allowing the possible clusters to be detected within a 7-day minimum and 30-day maximum temporal threshold was more representative of reality than other models.
Originality/value
This study illustrates the clustering of violence with the STPSS by detecting spatial-temporal clusters of violence and identifying the appropriate temporal threshold in detecting such clusters. Identification of such a threshold is useful to alert law enforcement officers quickly and enables them to allocate their resources optimally.