An Investigation of Employment and Wage Distribution in the Construction Industry by Race/Ethnicity and Gender

One of the largest job providers in the U.S, is the construction industry, an industry that suffers from critical problems pertaining to a labor shortage. Yet the industry also struggles with insufficient interest and inconsistent participation from underrepresented demographic groups. To address the issue of workforce income inequality and bias, the industry must better understand the current situation regarding inequality; it needs to pinpoint some basic problems. To do so, analysts must scrutinize the following aspects: 1) the current differences within the construction workforce by race/ethnicity and gender with regards to the total employment and 2) the current disparity within the construction workforce by race/ethnicity and gender with regards to wage distribution. To help address this need, this study analyzes current differences within the construction workforce by race/ethnicity and gender. The study confirms that the gaps in employment and wage distribution for minorities still exist and that over the years the trend has remained steady. Furthermore, the study also identifies occupations within the construction industry where discernable gaps can be observed in terms of employment and wage for race/ethnicity and gender. The products from this research will contribute to the body of workforce knowledge in the construction and broaden participation in engineering. By achieving these objectives, this work should help decision makers reduce income disparity where it is necessary and lead to improved interest and sustained participation in the construction across underrepresented demographic groups. The primary beneficiaries of this research will be African American, Hispanic, and women in the construction industry

Synthesis of Multiferroic BiFeo3BiFeo_3 Material by Autocombustion Technique

One of the most widely used and useful method of preparation of BFO is the combustion synthesis route using a fuel.The fuel used may be glycine ,citric acid or urea.the precursor material used for the synthesis of BFO by autocombustion route are $BiNO_3$ and $FeNO_3$ solutions with a certain concentration level. Combustion synthesis is becoming one of the most popular methods for the preparation of a wide variety of materials, .The main advantage of using this tchnique is due to the simplicity, the broad applicability range, the self-purifying feature due to the high temperatures involved, the possibility of obtaining products in the desired size and shape. This method is rapidly emerging as one of the most-convenient methods for the preparation of oxide materials. An aqueous solution of a redox system constituted by the nitrate ions of the metal precursor, acting as oxidizer, and a fuel like urea, glycine, citric acid or many others is heated up to moderate temperatures and, upon dehydration, the strongly exothermic redox reaction develops, which is generally self-sustaining and provides the energy for the formation of the oxide. The XRD structure of the synthesized sample was taken after calcination

Multiferroic composites an overview

Multiferroics, i.e. materials with magnetic and electric order coexisting, have been attracting much of interest the latest years. The interaction of magnetic and electric subsystems manifests itself as magnetoelectric (ME) effect that is interesting for practical applications such as the sensor techniques, microelectronics and magnetic memory systems. One of the most attractive substances for creation of new ME materials is the bismuth ferrite BiFeO3 due to its record high temperatures of electric (Tc ¼ 1083 K) and magnetic (TN ¼ 643 K) ordering. Noteworthy that the Giant ME effect at room temperature has been obtained for the first time in thin films of this material. In the bulk BiFeO3 samples the spatially modulated spin structure exists in which the magnetization vectors of antiferromagnetic sublattices change periodically from point to point with a period 620A ˚, incommensurate to the crystal lattice period (spin cycloid). The presence of spatially modulated spin structure results in zero value of the volume-averaged ME effect. A necessary condition for ME effect observation is the suppression of spin-modulated structure, that takes place in strong magnetic fields when the system undergoes the incommensurate–commensurate (IC–C) phase transition between spin-modulated and homogenous antiferromagnetic states. It has been noted in Ref. that there is a profound analogy between spatially modulated spin structures in multiferroics and spatially modulated structures in nematic liquid crystal (director vector waves). This periodic director vector structures in nematic liquid crystal arise in external electric field (flexoelectric effect ) and can be controlled with the electric field. The question arises whether the electric field can control spatially modulated structures in multiferroics in the same way as in liquid crystal

Relationship between Standardization Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and Project Performance

Facility standardization strategy is defined as the development and use of consistent designs to align project stakeholders, objectives, and scope to capture and optimize schedule, cost, and value. The implementation and proper execution of this strategy can lead to considerable benefits, such as design once and reuse multiple times, along with learning curve benefits in fabrication, operations, and construction, as well as accelerated responds to schedule needs. Although standardization strategy is not a new idea; capital projects have failed to achieve high levels of facility standardization. The primary reason for this is the industry’s struggle to execute standardized projects successfully. To address this issue, the Construction Industry Institute (CII) identified 15 standardization Critical Success Factors (CSFs) to help practitioners achieve higher levels of facility standardization in capital projects. However, there is a need to better understand the standardization CSFs comprehensively, as well as their relationship with project performance by analyzing data from actual standardized projects. This study attempts to fill the gap in the body of knowledge by examining the relationships between standardization CSFs and project performance as well as investigating the current status of CSFs accomplishments in standardized projects. The results show that if more CSFs are accomplished, project performance is improved for the capital projects. In addition, this research identifies which CSFs are commonly accomplished and which CSFs are challenging to accomplish. The research findings will help the industry to better understand standardization CSFs, so as to help standardized projects accomplish more CSFs appropriately, and therefore, improve project performance. Furthermore, this study contributes to the body of knowledge by building on the conceptually underlying principle of associations between standardization CSFs accomplishment and project performance

Experimental Study of Flow Field and Movement of Sediment over a Ramp

Applications of hydraulic structures in low dams and diversion structures in countries like India, where sediment is a serious concern, demands a good expanse of research on the flow field and movement of sediment. The present study was focused on the non-uniformity in the velocity distribution along the flow direction and the movement of sediment over a ramp. The velocity distribution of the flow near and over the ramp was studied with the help of Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter. Experiments were conducted to study the mechanics and kinematics of movement of sediment particles. The movement of sediment particles over the smooth ramp was studied with the help of high-speed camera system. The particle velocity, acceleration, applied force and the angle of velocity vector were processed and analyzed from the captured images using digital image analysis techniques. The path of the movement of sediment particle was tracked. The vector results of the flow pattern indicated a very high amount of increase of the uplift velocity (y – component of the instantaneous flow velocity) component over a ramp. The sediment had very little movement for about 3.8 seconds at the beginning of the ramp and accelerated as it moved along the ramp in the downstream side. The path of the sediment movement over the ramp was found to be inclined by 25.6 to 35.7 degree to the horizontal axis which was almost parallel to the ramp (29.055 degree)

Pharmacognostic and Physico chemical standardization of Cinchona officinalis Linn.f

 Cinchona officinalis Linn.f. is commonly known as Crown bark in English belongs to family Rubiaceae. Stem bark of C. officinalis have profound application in homeopathy. Aim of the present study is to standardizing C. Officinalis mother tinctures by taking from three different sources [Dr.D.P.Rastogi, CRI (H) Noida (A), two from market (B, C)] for pharmacognostic, physio chemical studies and comparative analysis for authentication of drug

Hypovitaminosis D among Blood Samples of Patients Presenting to the Department of Biochemistry of a Tertiary Care Center

Introduction: Hypovitaminosis D is a global public health problem affecting approximately one billion people, with a particularly high prevalence in South Asia. Several hospital-based studies from Nepal show a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D. However, large-scale community-based studies are lacking. The aim of the study was to find out the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D among blood samples of patients presenting to the Department of Biochemistry of a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among blood samples of patients presenting to the Department of Biochemistry of a tertiary care centre from 3 November 2022 to 30 April 2023 after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 136/22). Patients of all age groups and genders who were sent for the evaluation of Vitamin D at the laboratory were included. A convenience sampling technique was used. The point estimate was calculated at a 95% Confidence Interval. Results: Out of 376 patients, hypovitaminosis was seen in 274 (72.87%) (68.38-77.36, 95% Confidence Interval). Vitamin D insufficiency was present in 252 (91.97%) and vitamin D deficiency was present in 22 (8.03%) participants. Conclusions: The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was found to be higher than other studies done in similar settings.

Delayed Spontaneous Thrombosis of Neglected Direct Carotid-Cavernous Fistula: A Case Report

Direct carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF) refers to direct communication between the cavernous portion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and the cavernous sinus due to rent in the ICA, most commonly secondary to trauma. These are generally high-flow fistula and rarely resolve spontaneously. We report a case of a young male who developed features of direct CCF after trauma, was denied any treatment for 4 years, and then presented with spontaneous thrombosis of the fistula and a residual large pseudoaneurysm of the cavernous segment of the right ICA, which was subsequently managed with parent vessel occlusion

Impact of nicotine replacement therapy as an adjunct to anti-tuberculosis treatment and behaviour change counselling in newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis patients: an open-label, randomised controlled trial.

We evaluated the impact of intensive smoking cessation activities as an adjunct to anti-tuberculosis treatment on patient-related treatment outcomes. In this open-label, randomised controlled trial, self-reporting smokers with pulmonary tuberculosis who initiated standard anti-tuberculosis treatment were randomised to either nicotine replacement therapy and behaviour change counselling (n = 400) or counselling alone (n = 400) provided at baseline and two follow-up visits. The primary outcomes were change in TBscore at 24-weeks and culture conversion at 8-weeks. Biochemical smoking quit rates defined as serum cotinine levels <10 ng/mL and/or exhaled carbon monoxide levels <6 ppm (47·8% vs 32·4%, p-value =< 0·001) and self-reported quit rates (69.3% vs 38·7%, p-value =< 0·001) were significantly higher in the intervention arm at 24-weeks. Though the TBscores at 24 weeks (95% CI) were lower in the intervention arm [2·07 (1·98, 2·17) versus 2.12 (2·02, 2·21)], the difference was not clinically meaningful. Patients in the control arm required treatment extension more often than intervention arm (6·4% vs 2·6%, p-value = 0·02). Combining nicotine replacement therapy with behaviour change counselling resulted in significantly higher quit rates and lower cotinine levels, however, impact on patient-related (TBscore) or microbiological outcomes (culture conversion) were not seen