Preventive Approach to Unsubstantiated Claims and Disputes in the UK Construction Industry

Globally, claims and disputes are an unfortunate reality in construction projects. Recent statistics reveal that construction claims in the UK increased by 21% in 2018 compared to other countries such as India (8%), Mexico (3%), Ireland (2%), and Cyprus (2%). Though, construction industry is known for array of standard forms of contract and administrative tendencies; unsubstantiated claims and chronic disputes remain prevalent in the sector. Yet, there is little research on preventive approach to unsubstantiated claims that ultimately lead to disputes. The study advocates the use of Systematic and Technical Appraisal (STA) to prevent unsubstantiated claims and disputes in the construction industry. The study research method is based on qualitative research technique and use of case studies. The research question is: does systematic and technical appraisal of construction claims help prevent unsubstantiated claims and disputes in the UK construction industry? The study population sample is drawn from experienced industry stakeholders including clients, contractors, consultants, experienced quantity surveyors and cost managers in addition to use of construction case studies. Initial findings reveal that claim management processes in the construction sector are far-off from perfection. Other findings reveal that robust systematic and technical claim appraisal process has potential to prevent unsubstantiated claims; which in most cases lead to disputes. The study is part of an on-going PhD study to seek to develop an effective claim management system for the UK construction industry

Conventional and Hybrid BcB_c Mesons in an Extended Potential Model

Using our analytical expressions that well model the lattice simulations of the gluonic excitations, we use the extended quark potential model to study the effects of orbital and radial excitations on the masses and sizes of conventional and hybrid $B_c$ mesons. A non relativistic formalism is used to numerically calculate the wave functions using the shooting method; this allows us also calculating the $E1$, $M1$ radiative partial widths for conventional meson to meson and hybrid to hybrid transitions. We incorporate spin mixing and compare our calculated spectrum and decay widths with the available experimental $B_c$ masses and the theoretically predicted spectra and the decay widths by other groups. Our results can help consider both conventional and hybrid quantum numbers to $B_c$ mesons as experimental results become available.Comment: 15 pages, 11 Table

Perennial Forage Grass Production on the Marginal Arabian Peninsula Land

Increasing water scarcity and soil salinization call for more diversified agricultural production systems that have the potential to sustain in marginal environments. Perennial forage grasses have been developed to replace conventional forages for the development of livestock sector in the Gulf and African regions. Perennial forage crops are known to reduce soil erosion, nitrogen leaching, and to increase water holding capacity, carbon sequestration and soil health. Here we review traditional and indigenous perennial forage grasses such as Chloris gayana, Cenchrus divisus, Cenchrus ciliaris, Cenchrus setigerus for saline and marginal Arabian Peninsula lands. The annual dry matter yields of Chloris gayana ranges between 35 and 60 t ha−1, depending on the variety, climate and soil fertility conditions. It is persistent and produces drought-tolerant forage with a usual productive life of 3 years.C. ciliaris is an appropriate fodder grass because of significant returns and nutritive values, drought resistance and high palatability. C. ciliaris is considered a ‘wonder crop’ for its ability to withstand strong wind, drought, salinity and heavy grazing, and rapidly responding to rain. C. ciliaris has high water-use efficiency and moderate-to-high tolerance to salinity. However, this plant species cannot survive under waterlogging condition. C. divisus is a wild relative of pearl millet with high growth potential under harsh environmental conditions. C. divisus has also been widely used for xerophytic landscaping and amenity horticulture under harsh conditions. Despite their advantages, these grasses need to fit into current cropping patterns and farming systems, and prove their utility in marginal lands affected by salinity and alkalinity. We conclude that producing perennial forage grasses on the marginal lands of Arabian Peninsula are feasible if appropriately managed to circumvent negative ecological and environmental effects. For large scale adoption, creating marketing opportunities is also vital

Comparison of various oxidative treatments for removal of reactive black CNN

Decolorization of reactive black CNN by chemical oxidation and reduction using KMnO4, H2O2 and Ferrioxalate as oxidizing agents and Na2SO3 as reducing agent individually as well as in combination was studied on batch scale using UV-visible spectroscopy. Degradation of dye occurred in acidic medium with KMnO4 and in alkaline medium with H2O2 and ferrioxalate. The most efficient methods for decolorization of reactive black CNN is oxidation using KMnO4 as an oxidizing agent which removed 97.64% of dye. Maximum decolorization was obtained at 60 min of treatment under static conditions. H2O2 and ferrioxalate could remove only 50.71 and 44.21% dye, respectively. Sequential treatment was more successful with H2O2 and ferrioxalate when compared with KMnO4. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) contents of treated wastewater decreased appreciably from 83.6 to 63.7 mg/L and 86.8 to 72.8 mg/L, respectively. Additionally, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) study revealed the degradation of reactive black CNN after treatment into non toxic products.Keywords: Reactive black CNN, KMnO4, ferrioxalate, sodium sulphite, chemical oxygen demand (COD)

Hardy-Copson Type Inequalities on Time Scales for the Functions of “n” Independent Variables

The paper consists of some extensions in Hardy and Copson type inequalities on time scales. The main results are proved by using induction principle, Rules to find derivatives for composition of two functions, H¨older’s inequality and Fubini’s theorem in time scales settings. The related results and examples are also investigated in seek of applications

Representation of Women Physicians in Heart Failure Clinical Practice

Women have been integral in the development of advanced heart failure (HF) and transplantation as a clinical subspecialty of cardiovascular medicine. However, women remain underrepresented in leadership positions, senior academic ranks and as researchers in HF. In recent years, there have been accelerating efforts to examine sex differences in the clinical and research domains of HF. The purpose of this review is to discuss the representation of women in HF training programmes and clinical practice, the demographics of HF clinicians compared with other cardiology subspecialties, the persistent sex disparities in HF practice and research environments and potential strategies to promote equity and inclusion for women in the field

3-[(E)-(2,4-Dichloro­pbenzyl­idene)amino]­benzoic acid

In the crystal of the title compound, C14H9Cl2NO2, inversion-related dimers with R 2 2(8) ring motifs are formed by inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding. The 3-amino­benzoic acid group and the 2,4-dichlobenzaldehyde moiety subtend a dihedral angle of 55.10 (2)°. The H atom of the carboxyl group is disordered over two sites with equal occupancies

A Comparative Study of Cerium- and Ytterbium-Based GO/g-C3N4/Fe2O3 Composites for Electrochemical and Photocatalytic Applications

The design of sustainable and efficient materials for efficient energy storage and degradation of environmental pollutants (specifically organic dyes) is a matter of major interest these days. For this purpose, cerium- and ytterbium-based GO/g-C3N4/Fe2O3 composites have been synthesized to explore their properties, especially in charge storage devices such as supercapacitors, and also as photocatalysts for the degradation of carcinogenic dyes from the environment. Physicochemical studies have been carried out using XRD, FTIR, SEM, and BET techniques. Electrochemical techniques (cyclic voltammetry, galvanic charge discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) have been employed to measure super-capacitance and EDLC properties. Results show that the gravimetric capacitance calculated from GCD results is 219 Fg−1 for ytterbium- and 169 Fg−1 for cerium-based nanocomposites at the current density of 1 A/g and scan rate of 2 mV/sec. The specific capacitance calculated for the ytterbium-based nanocomposite is 189 Fg−1 as compared to 125 Fg−1 for the cerium-based material. EIS results pointed to an enhanced resistance offered by cerium-based nanocomposites as compared to that of ytterbium, which can be assumed with the difference in particle size, as confirmed from structural studies including XRD. From obtained results, ytterbium oxide-based GO/g-C3N4/Fe2O3 is proven to be a better electro-catalyst as compared to cerium-based nanocomposites. Photocatalytic results are also in agreement with electrochemical results, as the degradation efficiency of ytterbium oxide-based GO/g-C3N4/Fe2O3 (67.11 and 83.50% for rhodamine B and methylene blue dyes) surpasses values observed for cerium-based GO/g-C3N4/Fe2O3 (63.08 and 70.61%)