Gannett (United States)

ABSTRACT Design of foundation drain holes in bedrock where fractures control the permeability may be optimized based on the discontinuity pattern, specifically the spacing and orientation of the predominant discontinuity sets. When suitable representative outcrops are available, either naturally or by means of excavation, joint spacing and orientation can be measured directly by traditional methods using a measuring tape and compass or pocket transit or newer methods using computer software to measure virtual joint surfaces within a digital terrain model developed from digital photogrammetry or light detection and ranging (LiDAR) surveys. When suitable outcrops are not available, joint spacing and orientation can be measured using oriented core drilling techniques or downhole imaging tools (e.g., optical and acoustic sondes) that provide digital images of the borehole wall. With an understanding of the bedrock jointing pattern obtained from one or more of the above methods, the total apparent spacing (TAS) approach can be used to optimize the orientation of drain holes. The TAS approach employs the vector dot product formula to minimize the total apparent spacing between discontinuities and maximize the number of discontinuities intercepted by the drain hole. The TAS approach was used to optimize the orientation of foundation drain holes during rehabilitation of the Gilboa Dam in Schoharie County, NY. The TAS approach has other applications, e.g., optimizing the orientation of exploratory core holes to collect discontinuity data or the orientation of grout holes for foundation grouting.

Advertising is an important revenue stream for sustaining media companies and platforms that can optimize customer lifetime value (CLV) when properly balanced with subscription revenue. Our proposed a 3 × 3 Content/Ad Experience framework is designed to assist media managers and advertisers in identifying their specific scenarios, enhancing their understanding of the advertising ecosystem, and evaluating the trade-offs involved in calculating CLV. We discuss how the optimal combination of advertising and subscription fees for maximizing CLV depends on the quality of the content and the degree to which the advertising experience complements it. We extend Blattberg and Deighton (1996) decision calculus approach to quantify the trade-offs in two-sided media marketplaces. Our analytical findings indicate that CLV is impacted by shifts in subscription fees, advertising utility, and advertising revenue return.

BackgroundA wealth of extant research focuses on identifying barriers to, and predictors of, COVID-19 vaccination. In addition to treating COVID-19 vaccination and related experiences as antecedents, this study analyzes the relationships between COVID-19 vaccination experiences and intent to receive the flu, shingles, and HPV vaccines. MethodAnalyses were performed on the responses from U.S. survey panel of 1,024 participants (n = 1,024), 530 (51.8 %) who received at least a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 494 (48.2 %) who had not. Descriptive and inferential statistics identify participant demographic characteristics, prior vaccination behavior, vaccination intentions, risk behavior assessment, vaccination attitudes and beliefs, and the predictivity of COVID-19 vaccination, when treated as an antecedent. ResultsReceiving a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine interacted with receiving a past influenza vaccine, predicting the future intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or booster. Vaccine hesitancy in parents is significantly related to vaccination behaviors for themselves and their children. Analyses also showed differences between the vaccinated group (VG) and the unvaccinated group (UVG) on hesitancy, beliefs, and attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine. ConclusionExperience with COVID-19 vaccination and the relationship of those experiences with other vaccinations provide useful insight on leveraging vaccine uptake. Healthcare professionals should improve the COVID-19 vaccination experience and use vaccination appointments to promote other vaccinations. Research should continue to compare vaccination experiences and how they may persuade or dissuade vaccination intent for other vaccinations.

Highway bridges are critical structures with little tolerance to movement. Consequently, bridges are typically supported on pile foundations to limit the settlement. Approach embankments are prone to settle more than the bridge, especially when embankment is founded on cohesive soil layers. Such consolidation induced settlement generates negative skin friction on the pile foundation—a phenomenon known as downdrag. Downdrag reduces pile capacity and diminishes its ability to limit vertical movement. This paper presents a comparison of two methods available to design for practitioners, the analytical method and the finite element method, in estimating settlements of deep foundations subjected to the downdrag phenomenon. The behavior of soil layers is modeled in a two-dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis using commercial software package PLAXIS2D. A sensitivity analysis is performed on selected input parameters to determine their significance and impact on the convergence. This paper is expected to be of benefit to researchers and practitioners in the field of geotechnical engineering by presenting a correction to the plain strain assumption.

This paper focuses on the seismic performance of a pile-supported pier structure considering the potential for large-scale, earthquake-induced, slope deformations controlled by a layer of soft clay. The assessment incorporates the strain-dependent shearing resistance of the soft clay from moderate strains associated with peak dynamic strength, to intermediate strains at residual strength, and ultimately large strains at fully-remolded strength. Primary challenges for the project included drilling through an existing rock fill to obtain high-quality samples of the underlying soft clay for laboratory characterization of the static, cyclic, and post-cyclic stress-strain behavior of the clay. This paper underscores the importance of the laboratory testing for evaluation of the structural performance of a pile-supported pier structure impacted by permanent foundation movements during earthquakes. Structural aspects of the assessment are presented by Soderberg and Liu as part of the Proceedings of the Ports ’19 Conference.

The recent research and development on mine drainage published in 2018 was summarized in this annual review. In particular, this review was focused on two main aspects of mine drainage: (a) advances in treatment technologies and (b) rare earth elements in mine drainage and its recovery. The first section covers passive treatment technologies and active treatment options, including physiochemical treatment and biological treatment. The second section includes the characterization of rare earth elements in mine drainage and recovery technologies. Due to the importance of rare earth elements and the growing interest in their recovery from mine drainage, rare earth elements are reported as a separate section for the first time in this review. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Advances in treatment technologies for mine drainage are reviewed. Rare earth elements in mine drainage and its recovery are summarized. Reviewed technologies include passive, active, advanced and novel processes.

The design relates to a chiller assisted cooling chilled water plant for data centers. In the system and method of the design, a fluid cooler is utilized as the primary means of heat rejection of the chilled water exiting the IT environment in the data center. After passing through the fluid cooler, if the design chilled water is above the set point, the water is passed through the water chiller where it is cooled before being pumped back to the IT environment in the data center. The design of the plant results in a reduction of the typical temperature delta between entering chilled water temperature and leaving air temperature from 10°F to 5°F (5.6°C to 2.8°C) increasing the number of hours of economizer cooling. An increased temperature difference between entering chilled water temperature and leaving chilled water temperature from 12°F to 25°F (6.7°C to 13.9°C) reduces pump energy by 50%. The use of computer room air handling units with an increase in air delta T from 20°F to 28°F (11.1°C to 15.6°C) using hot aisle containment (computer room heat extraction device) results in a reduction of fan energy by 25%. The use of a fluid cooler as the primary means of heat rejection of the chilled water allows for a reduction in the size of the chiller plant and emergency power plant sized by 35% which also provides lower initial cost and fuel consumption during emergency operations. Initial reduced construction costs are also attributable to a reduction in pipe and insulation material, and less copper for emergency power distribution.