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Cities are described as urban heat islands (UHI) due to the intensity of the heat generated by urban activities. Buildings, for example, absorb and emit heat, which contributes to urban heat. Cities contribute to global warming, which, over time, influences climate change. Cities contend with these challenges concurrently through mitigation and adaptation strategies. Through their unintended conflicts and trade-offs, the strategies may impact each other adversely. What are typologies of these trade-offs and conflicts, and how do they influence the effectiveness of UHI management by governments? To answer this research question, this paper used the desktop, case-study and evidence-based research techniques. The paper found and discussed specific conflicts and trade-offs between UHI mitigation and adaptation strategies, as well as effective integration, innovation and evaluation management mechanisms. The findings should provide actionable insights for urban policymakers and planners, on UHI management and long-term climate resilience in cities.

This article explores the growing prominence of nature-inspired design philosophies in the context of sustainability and human well-being within the built environment and focuses on their application within laboratory buildings. Biomimicry and biophilic design are highlighted as key nature-inspired design approaches, with biomimicry drawing inspiration from nature for innovations and biophilic design promoting human health through enhancing the connection with the surrounding natural elements. This paper further discusses living building strategy as an emerging method for creating dynamic and adaptable spaces by prioritizing user experience through co-creation and focusing on sustainable and regenerative structures. The potential of integrating these approaches is emphasized using laboratory buildings as an example, with nature-inspired and living laboratories serving as models for future built environments that promote both environmental responsibility and a positive human experience. Accordingly, this work aims to investigate the design and construction of laboratory buildings based on nature-inspired design strategies and the living building concept. Moreover, the paper discusses the application of biomimicry and living building concepts within laboratory buildings as a novel contribution to the body of knowledge, and concludes by proposing the Nature-inspired & Living Laboratory (NILL 1.0)TM Building Assessment index to serve as a guideline for the design and construction of laboratory buildings using nature as an inspiration and the analogy of human body systems.

Program management is an important strategy for organizing and managing multiple interdependent construction projects to achieve strategic goals. However, when change orders occur, they can have a serious impact on the quality, time, cost of projects and, ultimately, affect the construction program. Furthermore, when change orders are caused particularly by legislative changes, such as environmental laws, taxes, tolls, safety codes, transportation, design or building codes, their impacts are unavoidable, yet can be managed through mitigation strategies. The existing literature only reports the implications of change orders on the project level and reports legislative changes as one of the contributing factors to change orders, but does not consider the implications on a program level. This study aims to close this knowledge gap by assessing the implications of change orders caused by legislative changes on program management in the construction industry during the construction phase, and explore what the possible mitigation strategies to manage change orders caused by legislative changes are. The objectives of the study include identifying the implications of change orders on construction projects in the UAE through a literature review using peer-reviewed journals and reliable industry sources. Additionally, we investigate the implications of change orders caused by legislative changes on construction programs through interviewing subject matter experts, evaluating the importance of the reported impacts, with possible mitigation strategies, through a structured questionnaire and Relative Importance Index (RII) and, finally, proposing a set of recommendations for key industry stakeholders. A mixed methods approach is adopted in this qualitative study, and the participants include clients, contractors and consultants from the construction industry, with a defined scope covering the construction stage only. The outcomes of the study can guide program managers, decision-makers and practitioners in the construction industry to successfully deliver all projects by directing proper resources to accommodate legislative changes.

Recent earthquakes worldwide have led to significant loss of life and structural damage to infrastructure, especially road bridges. Existing bridge monitoring systems have limitations, including restricted detection capabilities, subjectivity, human error, labor-intensive inspections, limited access to remote areas, and high costs. Aging infrastructures pose a critical concern for organizations and government funding policies, showing signs of decay and impending structural failure. To address these challenges, this research proposes an IoT-based bridge health status monitoring and warning system that is wireless, low-cost, durable, and user-friendly. The proposed system builds upon engineering standards and guidelines to classify bridge health status into categories ranging from excellent to collapse condition. It incorporates deflection, vibration, temperature, humidity, and infrared sensors, combined with IoT and a fuzzy logic algorithm. The primary objective is to reduce bridge maintenance costs, extend lifespans, and enhance transportation safety through an early warning system via a mobile application. Additionally, a Google Maps interface has been developed to display bridge conditions along with real-time traffic video. To validate the proposed system, a 3-D prototype model was constructed and tested. Practical testing of the fuzzy logic algorithm aligned with the simulation outcomes, demonstrating expected accuracy in determining bridge health status.

Globally, the construction sector is regarded as one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, freshwater usage, resource utilization, and solid waste generation. With a constantly growing population and increased urbanization, this is only predicted to rise. Thus, achieving sustainable development in the construction sector has become an urgent necessity. The adoption of biomimicry in the construction sector is one of the most innovative concepts towards the shift into sustainable practices in construction. However, it has been noticed that the concept of biomimicry is very broad, relatively new, and abstract. Thus, after reviewing previously conducted research on the subject, a noticeable lack of knowledge on the effective implementation of the biomimicry concept was found to be present. Therefore, this research seeks to fill this knowledge gap whereby it aims to explore the development of the biomimicry concept in the field of architecture, building construction, and civil engineering with a systematic review approach of research related to biomimicry in these three fields. This aim is guided by an objective of developing a clear understanding of the application of the biomimicry concept in architecture, building construction, and civil engineering fields. The timeframe considered for this review is between 2000 and 2022. The qualitative exploratory nature of this research focuses on reviewing databases such as Science Direct, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and MDPI, as well as book chapters, editorials, and official websites to extract relevant information using an eligibility criterion of title and abstract review, inclusion of key terms, and detailed review of chosen articles. This study will improve the understanding of the biomimicry concept and how it can be applied in the built environment.

The building sector is widely acknowledged as a driving force behind national prosperity. However, there are considerable challenges to the construction industry’s transition to sustainable practices, including regarding building information modelling (BIM) technologies. The United Arab Emirates has made significant progress in the Middle East in adopting BIM technologies. Green building approaches have been advanced through their incorporation into environmentally conscious building practices, with a large body of literature responding to this issue. Several projects in the United Arab Emirates have, however, made use of the complementary nature of BIM and UAE sustainable policies. However, not everybody has employed the full potential of BIM implementation in sustainable construction. This paper aims to identify and prioritize the critical success factors (CSFs) for effective BIM implementation as a sustainable construction practice in the UAE and examine their ranking and relationships. A list of critical success factors was gathered from a review of previous literature to identify the essential factors for successful implementation. A standardized questionnaire was distributed to consulting organizations and engineering enterprises to verify the existence of these CSFs and measure their importance in the context of the UAE’s construction industry. The survey data was analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique to elaborate and validate the results, which was specifically applicable to the needs of this study. The results from the AHP analysis show that the social aspects were ranked as the highest critical success factor compared to the other criteria, namely economic, environmental, and information technology. Within this criterion, it was found that effective communication among stakeholders is the most important element, as subject matter experts feel that it is imperative to have buy-in from all or most of the construction project stakeholders to achieve the strategic goal of implementing BIM. Equally anticipated are both an effective corporate framework to back up the BIM system and government funding to build the BIM system.

According to the World Economic Forum, the building sector is responsible for 40% of global energy consumption and 33% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and this is expected to increase due to population growth and the subsequent impact on the environment, economy and health. To tackle the problem, countries have set new construction codes, policies and regulations for the construction of new buildings in an effort to make them greener. However, there is a need to enhance the status of the existing buildings, especially mosques, as they are the main contributors to energy usage and water consumption in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Therefore, this research seeks to fill this gap, aiming to evaluate the energy usage and water consumption practices employed in the existing mosque buildings within the UAE and to provide recommendations for improving the sustainability of mosques, with a focus on the environmental and economic pillars. The methodology relies mainly on data collected from 146 existing mosque buildings that have undergone energy saving audits across the UAE. Descriptive statistical analysis is performed to analyze the data from the period of 2018–2019 in order to determine the most significant factors related to energy inefficiency in existing mosque buildings in the UAE and to determine the most cost-effective and energy-saving corrective measures for energy and water conservation. The findings further enhance the standard of experience for mosque visitors (social aspect); reduce energy bill expenses, providing an acceptable return on investment from the proposed energy conservation measures for stakeholders (economic); and reduce the overall energy consumption, which can reduce the total CO2 emissions from mosque buildings (environmental).

Sustainability has a solid understanding on a broad level; however, in construction, there is no consensus about what it encompasses. Different practitioners perceive sustainability in construction from different perspectives. There are existing debates concerning the definition and scope of sustainable construction. Therefore, the aim of this research is to set a benchmark for the perceptions governing the understanding of sustainability in construction amongst practitioners working in the UAE’s construction sector. To collect the perceptions, the reviewed literature was condensed to develop an online survey that was validated by an expert panel and collected data from 129 industry professionals in 2022. The reliability of the collected data was confirmed using Cronbach’s alpha. Upon confirming the validity and reliability of the collected data, the analysis of the perceptions was done using descriptive statistics and the relative importance index. The findings confirm that the economic and social pillars are not as recognized as the environmental pillar. Stakeholders are familiar with implementing sustainable practices in the design and construction phases whereas contract formation, procurement and demolition phases had the lowest RII ranking. Stakeholders are informed about the environmental benefits of sustainable construction, but efforts to familiarize them with the benefits of the economic and social pillars should be amplified. The main barriers were the necessity for additional research and the difficulty to implement sustainable construction due to the lack of understanding about what it is. Data collected aligns with the main problem statement which is the lack of understanding about what sustainable construction entails. The contribution that this research has added to the body of knowledge is that the exclusive collection and analysis of the perceptions governing sustainability in the UAE’s construction industry should draw the attention of policymakers that the true meaning of sustainability has not yet infiltrated the construction industry and immediate intervention is mandatory to increase the awareness levels of the stakeholders working in the UAE’s construction industry about what sustainable construction is.

The residential sector is multi-faceted by nature. Although evidence shows that the UAE is among the countries in the world that take sustainability seriously, there is a lack of information about the perception of sustainability by occupants in the residential sector in the UAE. The aim of this paper is to assess the perception of sustainability of the residential sector in the UAE, which is achieved by following a methodological framework using the relevant literature review and experts’ knowledge. An online survey was distributed to the targeted population, followed by a statistical analysis to fulfill the aim of the paper. Results confirm the correlation between social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability. Additionally, structural equation modeling reveals that the perception of sustainability is significantly influenced by economic and environmental aspects in the residential sector in the UAE. Comparative analysis shows a statistical difference in the perception of sustainability among gender, educational level, employment status, and monthly income. Finally, a predictive classification model is built to classify the perception of occupants based on their attributes using decision tree algorithms. The outcomes of this study would be beneficial to policy and decision makers, developers, contractors, designers, and facility management entities to enhance overall sustainability in the residential sector.

Abstract Introduction  Remote magnetic navigation (RMN) has been reported as an effective and safe tool to overcome the need for advanced operator skill in the treatment of complex arrhythmias. We report a series of patients undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) using RMN with either a 4-mm catheter tip or an 8-mm catheter tip at four different centers. Methods  Sixty-five patients with clinical and symptomatic history of Vas were included. Two different magnetic catheters were used to deliver radiofrequency applications remotely. When ablation with the RMN catheters failed, a manual irrigated catheter was used to eliminate the VAs. Post-ablation pacing maneuvers were utilized to verify the inducibility of Vas. Results  Twenty-eight patients (43%) had ischemic cardiomyopathy [coronary artery disease (CAD)], 16 patients (25%) had non-ischemic cardiomyopathy [idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC)], and 21 patients (32%) had structurally normal hearts (SNH) or right ventricle outflow tract tachycardia (RVOT). In patients with structural heart disease (CAD, IDC), success was achieved in 22% with the 4-mm catheter tip and in 59% with the 8-mm catheter tip (p = 0.014). In patients with SNH/RVOT, success was achieved in 85% with the 4-mm catheter tip and in 87% with the 8-mm catheter tip (p = 1.00). Conclusions  Our findings showed that, with RMN, there is an increased success related to the catheter tip utilized. However, in patients with right ventricular outflow origin, the standard 4-mm tip provided adequate lesions for successful ablation in most patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Introduction  Pulmonary veins in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) have been shown to be highly arrhythmogenic. Calcification in these veins may play an adjunctive role in the pathogenesis of AF. Methods and Results  A case control study was performed in patients with drug refractory nonvalvular AF whose preablation computed tomography chest scans demonstrated pulmonary vein (PV) calcification. Eight out of 48 patients with PV calcification were compared to 50 patients without AF who underwent electron beam computed tomography coronary artery calcium scores. These patients were matched for age, gender, coronary artery calcium scores, and the presence of PV calcification. The mean age of the combined group was 57 ± 9 years and 60% were men. The mean total PV calcium score was significantly higher at 199 ± 112 in patients with AF compared to 106 ± 52 in controls (p = 0.018). Men had significantly higher total PV calcium score than women in both groups. Conclusion  Total PV calcium score was significantly higher in patients with atrial fibrillation. Increased PV calcification may play an adjunctive role in the pathogenesis in initiating and maintaining AF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]