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This study investigated the myriad risk factors contributing to cost overruns in healthcare construction projects. It determined the impact of managerial, financial, workerpower, and environmental considerations, focusing on the intricacies of healthcare facilities. By employing a modified fuzzy group decision-making approach (MFGDMA), the research methodically quantified the subjective perceptions of diverse stakeholders involved in project execution. Results reveal that labor-related issues—such as shortages, productivity, and skill deficits—along with managerial delays, particularly in decision-making and change orders, significantly contribute to cost escalations. The study's novelty lies in its integration of fuzzy logic to defuzzify risk perceptions, providing a clear hierarchy of risk factors, which assists in the strategic prioritization of risk mitigation efforts. Additionally, it demonstrates a risk response plan considering the fuzzy-based risk assessment findings, which can serve as a hands-on tool guiding healthcare project practitioners to develop their risk management plans and monitor cost overrun risks throughout the execution phases of a project. The application of the research findings suggests policy implications for improved risk management frameworks toward the development of more-resilient and -efficient strategies for managing healthcare construction projects without prohibitive cost overruns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has struck the construction industry gravely. Accordingly, numerous studies reported the impact of COVID-19 on various aspects of the construction industry and projects. However, there exists no framework that can guide the evaluation of holistic impact of COVID-19 on a construction project specifically for developing countries. To fulfill this knowledge gap, this study conducted state-of-the-art review of recent related journal articles from developing countries and developed an eight-dimensional assessment framework to assess the impact of COVID-19 on construction projects. These eight dimensions include: (1) on-site safety measures, (2) productivity, (3) supply chain management, (4) transportation, (5) labor issues, (6) time and cost performances, (7) contractual implications, and (8) social impact. Additionally, to demonstrate the usefulness of the framework, the study utilized the framework to assess four projects in three developing countries: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Finally, the study presented the best practices to mitigate the impacts of any future wave of COVID-19 on construction projects. The developed framework holds potential applications ranging from policy planning to construction operations under COVID-19 and similar pandemics. It can be implemented to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on the construction industry, evaluating project performance across eight dimensions. Moreover, it aids in the development of COVID-19 impact management actions to control project performance. Additionally, the framework assists in building organizational resilience for managing construction projects under the challenges posed by COVID-19 or similar pandemic scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional wastewater treatment plant (CWTP) construction and operation are challenging, and identifying critical factors is a foremost task in its initial stage. This study aims to evaluate the critical factors considering expert judgment-based data so that field professionals can address them on a priority basis in CWTP design, construction, and operation. Accordingly, 29 critical factors were identified from the literature and evaluated by 20 experts in Saudi Arabian CWTP projects. A fuzzy group decision-making approach was applied to assess and prioritize them, considering the design and construction phases of CWTP projects of varying types, sizes, capacities, and contracts. Among 29 factors, 14 were found to be extremely important in CWTP design, whereas eight have similar importance in CWTP construction and operation. Extremely important factors in both phases include design/operation code, institutional setup and personnel capacity, neighborhood community, and environmental rules and regulations. The importance levels of some factors are varied with project variables. Among others, not complying with standard operation procedures is the top-ranked factor for privately funded, design–bid–build contact, and medium-sized projects. The government's political commitment is significant for the privately funded and cost-plus-profit contract projects. The variance analysis also shows that factors such as the government's political commitment, lack of proper equipment monitoring, and distance from wastewater sources have higher uncertainties in different project contexts. Thus, managing those factors is critical with the presented fuzzy-based decision analysis considering varying project scenarios. The study further provides guidelines for the sustainable design and construction of CWTP plants by overcoming critical challenges and constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaya began its relationship with the Ottoman Turkish Empire in the 15th century, during the time of the Melaka-Sultanate. This relationship continued even after the arrival of colonialists and the fall of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. At first, their relations were focused on politics and economics. These two kingdoms were considered to be the powerful Islamic forces that influenced Europe and Asia. The Sultan of Melaka visited Turkey several times to strengthen their relationship and even took an oath of allegiance to the Ottoman Turkish Empire, promising to defend Islam in Asia. After the fall of Melaka, the Ottoman Turkish Empire provided war aid through Aceh to help Melaka regain control of the seized kingdom. The Ottoman Turkish Empire also influenced the Malay community’s thinking and struggle to resist colonialism in the 18th century. The Malay community even took the Ottoman Turkish Empire as a model for freeing Malaya from Western threats. This paper will examine the initial relationship between the Melaka Malay Kingdom and the Ottoman Turkish Empire, particularly from a political perspective, and the type of influence that catalysed the Malays’ spirit to continue to rise and defend Malaya from external threats. This research will focus on document analysis and descriptive writing methods. The relationship between Malaya and the Turkish Government lasted until the Islamic caliphate fell in 1923. Furthermore, Ottoman Turkey was a significant Islamic government that the Malays expected to obey, as it acted as a power that was always concerned with Islam and the country as an Islamic state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design and intervention: Before-and-after evaluation of web-based mindfulness training for staff caring for people living with dementia in care homes. Stepped-wedge cluster randomised design. Setting and participants: Random sample of 31 care homes for people living with dementia. Homes started mindfulness training at a random time over 35 weeks. From these homes 172 staff volunteered, 151 (88%) started training, and 111 (67%) completed questionnaires after 20 weeks. Methods: Questionnaires completed at baseline, 8 and 20 weeks included job stress (WSI) and health and well-being (SF-12). Results: There were significant reductions in job stress of 0.07 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.02, 0.13) at 8 weeks and 0.06 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.11) at 20 weeks; and improvements of 2.49 points (95% CI: 0.81, 4.17) in the SF-12 Mental Component Score at 8 weeks and 3.41 (95% CI: 1.88, 4.94) at 20 weeks. Conclusions: Web-based mindfulness training improved the psychological well-being of care home staff and reduced their stress with small to moderate effects in both short and medium term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that unremitting conflicts between the power centres and the individuals from the borderline spaces of the society characterise Doris Lessing’s novels The Fifth Child and Ben, in the World. The paper seeks to further the argument by applying Michel Foucault’s early work on power and Zygmunt Bauman’s theory on liquid, thus postmodern, fear to manifest the implosion of the contemporary civilization that lives on global/local disparities and operates through subversive surveillance.

Post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles, after some pre-processing, were chemically depolymerized for the production of terephthalic acid (TPA), an important monomer of PET resin. The optimized condition of PET hydrolysis was 100°C with 80% v/v aqueous sulfuric acid liquor for 30 min reaction time. The terephthalic acids (TPAs) were filtered out from the reaction mixtures with a sintered glass filter. The viscosity of recycled hydrolysis liquor was measured before it was used in a successive batch of PET depolymerization. The viscosity of hydrolysis liquor increased gradually from 5 mm2/s to 87 mm2/s. TPA yields were obtained from 85.03 ± 0.03% to 99.20 ± 0.06% and the color of TPA changed from bright white to off-white in the final batches. The structure of TPA was confirmed by FTIR, mass analysis, and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The purity of TPA was found to be 95–98% from the HPLC study via external calibration technique. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) determined the thermal degradation patterns of TPAs and residual weights. This experiment reveals that repeated use of sulfuric acid hydrolysis liquor would be a good option for PET depolymerization in terms of resource utilization, TPA quality as well as sustainability. Graphical Abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction nonconformity assessment of buildings is critical to ensure the anticipated quality and living safety for their future occupants. Previous studies have paid less attention to identifying and analyzing building construction nonconformities (BCNs) in the design and construction (D&C) phases. They considered expert judgments in nonconformity assessment, which are critiqued for human bias, uncertainty, and imprecision. In a BCN assessment, previous studies also did not consider the specific time frame to detect construction nonconformities. This study aims to prioritize nonconformities in the D&C phases, addressing the limitations of expert judgment by applying the fuzzy group decision-making approach (FGDMA). The FGDMA computes the defuzzified scores of the nonconformities to prioritize and identify critical nonconformities. The defuzzified scores are explained further by associating them with the corresponding fuzzy numbers to address the limitations involved in expert judgments. The study also identifies the detection time of BCNs and analyzes 15 different Bangladeshi project scenarios to understand their context better. The critical nonconformities identified include premature stressing on concrete, inaccurate water-cement ratios, insufficient concrete compaction, lack of full-time site supervision, and the absence of stirrups in beam-column joints. Critical nonconformities are mostly identified during construction, and residential, commercial, and multipurpose buildings, regardless of ownership (i.e., public or private) and size, have experienced poor quality construction. This study will assist major stakeholders (owner, contractor, consultant, and regulatory authorities) to fully understand the critical nonconformities in different building projects from their preconstruction to construction phases for better quality assurance in providing a safe living and working environment for their future occupants. The study identifies critical nonconformities and their frequency, severity, and detection times in different construction projects, including residential, commercial, and multipurpose buildings and mosques. It also studies 15 different project scenarios for analyzing the nonconformities of government and privately funded/owned buildings. The most common nonconformities are premature stressing on concrete (loading to concrete members before gaining their design strength), inaccurate water-cement ratios, insufficient concrete compaction, and the absence of stirrups in beam-column joints. These nonconformities all occur due to lack of full-time site supervision and poor workmanship during construction. The dominating detection time for identifying the critical nonconformities is "during construction." Thus, it is possible to control many by careful supervision and improved workmanship during construction. The project scenario analysis shows that residential, commercial, and multipurpose buildings, regardless of ownership (i.e., public or private), experience poor quality construction. These findings will assist stakeholders with different engagement levels in managing their roles in building projects to deliver a better quality of construction, and hence a sustainable and safe living and working environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost overruns are a ubiquitous feature of construction projects, and realistic budgeting at the development stage plays a significant role in their control. However, the application of existing models to budgeting for power plant projects is restricted by the limited amount of project-specific cost data available. This study overcomes this by using a Classification and Regression Tree (CART) approach involving mixed methods of website visits, document study, and expert opinion to predict the amount of project cost (PC) and cost contingency (CC) needed to cover probable cost increases by the use of models containing readily available project attributes and national economic parameters at the project development stage. The modeling process is demonstrated and tested with a case study involving 58 Bangladeshi power plant projects - producing average absolute errors ranging from 0.7% to 1.7% and enabling project cost, inflation rate, and GDP to be identified as significant factors affecting PC and CC modeling. The approach can be applied to predict the PC during preliminary budgeting and selecting a project type and location aligned to the country's economic status and policy-making strategies, thus facilitating further investment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, power projects are prone to cost overrun projects. Within the body of knowledge, previous studies have paid less attention to predicting the cost overruns to assist contingency cost planning. Particularly, in thermal power plant projects (TPPPs), the enormous risks involved in their delivery undermine the accuracy of cost overrun prediction. To prevent cost overrun in thermal power plant projects, these risks need to be accounted for by employing sophisticated cost overrun prediction techniques. This study aims to develop a hybrid predictive-probabilistic-based model (HPPM) that integrates a genetic programming technique with Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The HPPM was proposed based on the data collected from TPPPs in Bangladesh. Also, the sensitivity of the HPPM was examined to identify the critical risks in cost overruns simulation. The simulation outcomes show that 40.48% of a project's initial estimated budget was the most probable to cost overrun, while the maximum cost overrun will not exceed 75% with 90% confidence. Practically, the analysis will sensitize project managers to emphasize thermal plants' budget accuracy not only at the initial project delivery phase but throughout the project life cycle. Theoretically, the HPPM could be employed for cost overrun prediction in other types of power plant projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste poly(vinyl chloride) fill material from the cooling tower of a power plant was used for mechanical recycling. Mechanical recycling is the processing of plastic waste without changing the original chemical structure of the plastic. The waste rigid poly(vinyl chloride) fill material was cleaned, grinded and compression molded at optimized conditions of time, temperature and pressure using a compression molding machine. Virgin poly(vinyl chloride) was purchased and compression molded by the same compression molding machine. The compression molded sheets of waste poly(vinyl chloride) and virgin poly(vinyl chloride) were characterized by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared analyses, tensile properties analyses, and thermal properties analyses. The results revealed that waste rigid poly(vinyl chloride) fill material is mechanically recyclable into new products such as pipes, profiles, furniture and other related products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports the first observation of a House Crow (Corvus splendens) predating an Asian Common Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) in Bangladesh, detailing how the crow captured, killed, and consumed the toad.

The expected longer service life of modified asphalt can be jeopardized by different environmental factors, such as moisture, oxidation, etc. which affect the desired properties by altering the adhesive property. An insight into knowledge of the adhesive property of the asphalt can help in providing more durable asphalt pavement. The study attempted to develop different models of adhesive properties of polymers and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) modified asphalt binders. The polymer-CNT modified asphalt is processed to prepare different types of samples, by simulating the damage due to moisture and oxidization, following the corresponding standard method. An Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was employed to assess the nanoscale adhesion force of the tested samples following the existing functional group in asphalt. Finally, the study has developed Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) as a function of different parameters including; asphalt chemistry (i.e. AFM tip type and constant), type and percentages of polymers and CNTs and different environmental exposures (oxidation, moisture, etc.) to predict the nano adhesion force of asphalt. It is observed that the adhesive property of the Styrene–Butadiene modified asphalt is more consistent compared to the Styrene–Butadiene–Styrene modified asphalt, while the presence of Single-Wall Nanotubes (SWNT) is observed to affect the adhesive properties of asphalt significantly as compared to Multi-Wall Nanotubes (MWNT). The higher accuracy level of RBFNN model also indicates that the functional group (tip-type) adding with the percentages and types of polymers and CNTs significantly affect the adhesive properties of asphalt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of human capital formation on economic growth of Bangladesh. The study uses the current expenditure on health and public expense on education to measure the human capital formation and growth of gross domestic product as an economic growth proxy. The study employs the time-series data for the period 1998-2017 and performs Augmented Dickey Fuller unit root test to determine data stationarity, Johansen cointegration test to examine the long-run relationship among the variables and Granger causality test to explore the direction of causality. The findings reveal that public expenditure on education causes economic growth positively, while current expenditure on health has no impact on economic growth. Similarly, growth in GDP causes expenditure on health to rise, but it has no impact on education spending. Moreover, education spending causes health expenditure to rise as well. Therefore, the policy makers need to focus more on education and find the way out to materialize the outcome of health expenditure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The majority of residents in care homes in the United Kingdom are living with dementia or significant memory problems. Caring in this setting can be difficult and stressful for care staff who work long hours, have little opportunity for training, are poorly paid and yet subject to high expectation. This may affect their mental and physical wellbeing, cause high rates of staff turnover and absenteeism, and affect the quality of care they provide. The main objective of this survey was to explore the nature, characteristics and associations of stress in care home staff. Methods: Staff working in a stratified random sample of care homes within Wales completed measures covering: general health and wellbeing (SF-12); stress (Work Stress Inventory); job content (Karasek Job Content); approach to, and experience of, working with people living with dementia (Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire; and Experience of Working with Dementia Patients); and Productivity and Health Status (SPS-6). Multiple linear regressions explored the effects of home and staff characteristics on carers. Results: 212 staff from 72 care homes completed questionnaires. Staff from nursing homes experienced more work stress than those from residential homes (difference 0.30; 95% confidence interval (CI) from 0.10 to 0.51; P < 0.01), and were more likely to report that their health reduced their ability to work (difference -4.77; CI -7.80 to -1.73; P < 0.01). Psychological demands on nurses were higher than on other staff (difference = 1.57; CI 0.03 to 3.10; P < 0.05). A positive approach to dementia was more evident in those trained in dementia care (difference 8.54; CI 2.31 to 14. 76; P <0.01), and in staff working in local authority homes than in the private sector (difference 7.75; CI 2.56 to 12. 94; P <0.01). Conclusions: Our study highlights the importance of dementia training in care homes, with a particular need in the private sector. An effective intervention to reduce stress in health and social care staff is required, especially in nursing and larger care homes, and for nursing staff. Trial registration: ISRCTN registry: ISRCTN80487202. Registered 24 July 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction industry is known for its poor safety records compared with other industries. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the existing safety practices and discover the causes of fatalities in building construction projects in Bangladesh. To achieve these objectives, related studies were reviewed and field data collected by structured interviews with project managers, engineers and foremen. In addition a questionnaire survey has been conducted among engineers. Data has been analyzed by using descriptive statistics. The results showed that many construction sites did not practice proper safety measures for site protection and that workers did not take personal protective measures mentioned in Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC). Besides, the study results revealed that the leading cause of fatal accidents is falling from different heights. Furthermore, a strong positive correlation has been found between fatal reports and survey results to find the most vulnerable age group (26-41 years) and construction floor levels (6th - 10th) for fatality. Thus, the study recommends for protecting construction sites and ensuring workers’ personal safety measures the provision of better on-site safety practices to reduce fatalities. At the end, this study suggests some future studies on construction safety in Bangladesh as well as in other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of human capital formation on economic growth of Bangladesh. The study uses the current expenditure on health and public expense on education to measure the human capital formation and growth of gross domestic product as an economic growth proxy. The study employs the timeseries data for the period 1998-2017 and performs Augmented Dickey Fuller unit root test to determine data stationarity, Johansen cointegration test to examine the long-run relationship among the variables and Granger causality test to explore the direction of causality. The findings reveal that public expenditure on education causes economic growth positively, while current expenditure on health has no impact on economic growth. Similarly, growth in GDP causes expenditure on health to rise, but it has no impact on education spending. Moreover, education spending causes health expenditure to rise as well. Therefore, the policy makers need to focus more on education and find the way out to materialize the outcome of health expenditure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a study to determine the taxonomic position of strain EK05T isolated from a root-outgrowth of Entada koshunensis, a legume available in Okinawa, Japan. According to the author, phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene showed that the strain belongs to the genus Bradyrhizobium. The study proposes Bradyrhizobium iriomotense sp. nov. for strain EK05T.

A 60-year-old male reported to us with an atypical case of giant steatocystoma multiplex in the scrotum with calcification. There was no family history of similar lesions. Yellowish, creamy material was expressed from a nodule during punch biopsy. The diagnosis was based on clinical as well as histological findings. Successful surgical excision was done to cure the case without any complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three strains, MAFF 210191(T), G24103(T) and G24116, assumed to be members of two novel species, were isolated from several rhizosphere habitats in different parts of Japan. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the isolates formed a distinct monophyletic group together with the two known species of the genus Labrys, suggesting that the isolates have a close affiliation with this genus. In this study, a polyphasic approach was used to characterize and compare the three isolates with the two species of the genus Labrys, Labrys monachus and Labrys methylaminiphilus. All three isolates were aerobic, Gram-negative, motile and non-sporulating and they ranged in shape from spherical to short rods. The cells multiplied by budding and utilized a wide variety of monosaccharides, disaccharides and sugar alcohols as sole carbon and energy sources, but they did not utilize C(1) compounds, salicin or d-melezitose. The strains were inhibited by dl-alpha-alanine and glycine (both at 10 mM). The major cellular fatty acids were C(19 : 0) cyclo omega8c, C(16 : 0), C(18 : 0) and C(18 : 1)omega7c. The three isolates shared <12 % and <11 % DNA-DNA relatedness with L. monachus DSM 5896(T) and L. methylaminiphilus DSM 16812(T), respectively. The G+C content of the isolates (61-62 mol%) was also significantly lower than those of the two previously characterized species. In spite of many morphological, physiological and chemotaxonomic similarities among the three isolates, strain MAFF 210191(T) could be differentiated from strains G24103(T) and G24116 on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence divergence, DNA-DNA relatedness (<46 %) and gelatin hydrolysis. Two novel species are therefore proposed, namely Labrys okinawensis sp. nov., with the type strain MAFF 210191(T) (=DSM 18385(T)), and Labrys miyagiensis sp. nov., with the type strain G24103(T) (=NBRC 101365(T)=NCIMB 14143(T)) and also including strain G24116 (=NBRC 101366=NCIMB 14144). Emended descriptions of the genus Labrys and Labrys monachus are also presented.