TerraMetrics (United States)

Construction of pavements and other lightweight structures on expansive soils is a considerable cause of concern for transportation infrastructure practitioners. Several researchers have recommended the use of silica-based co-additives with calcium-based stabilizers to overcome the problems associated with long-term performance of such infrastructures. However, very little focus has been directed towards understanding the durability and permanency of such treatment methods. A research program was developed to address issues regarding the durability and permanency of the nanosilica co-additive treatment when commixed with a traditional Ca-based stabilizer. Engineering tests such as soaked strength and volumetric swell measurements were performed to measure the moisture susceptibility. Unsaturated studies using soil water retention curves were performed to understand the pore structural changes after treatments. And finally, leaching studies on treated soils were performed to understand the efficacy of the nanosilica in preventing the loss of primary stabilizers. Experimental results showed that the application of silica-based co-additives with lime to treat high plastic problematic soil significantly changes the durability of the treated soils against moisture intrusion. The SWCC helped to understand the moisture-holding ability in different soils. And finally, the leaching test provided some preliminary insight on the effect of nanosilica in reducing the Na+ leaching, while not affecting Ca2+ leaching, as compared to only lime-treated soils. Overall, the study helped to develop a preliminary understanding of the behavior of the silica-based co-additive and lime treatments for long-term performance of transportation infrastructure.

Escalating wildfire frequency and severity are altering wildland habitats worldwide. Yet investigations into fire impacts on wildlife habitat rarely extend to the macroecological scales relevant to species conservation and global change processes. We evaluate the effects of wildfire on habitat quality and selection by large mammals spanning three trophic levels in the Western United States. We analyze 12 years of GPS telemetry data for 2966 mule deer Odocoileus hemionus , 52 black bears Ursus americanus , and 74 cougars Puma concolor across Utah and Nevada, USA. Over 800 areas burned between 1990–2022 overlapped with the home ranges of 1892 animals, resulting in almost 23 000 km 2 of burned habitat and representing 12.8% of the total home range area for animals in our sample. Habitat suitability models for 664 mule deer, 14 black bears and 11 cougars indicated that burns improved summer home range quality for mule deer and black bears by 7% and 14%, respectively, highlighting the benefits of fires for nutrient cycling, understory herbaceous growth, and resultant caloric value for animal nutrition. When making fine‐scale movement decisions, however, mule deer avoided burned habitats, and all three species generally avoided high‐severity burns for up to 30 years post‐fire. Thus, the effects of burns on wildlife habitat selection appear to be dependent on spatial scale. Given projected increases in large, severe fires, our results suggest potential reductions in beneficial habitat for wildlife in the long term. However, our results also suggest that prescribed burns, because of their smaller spatial footprints and lower severity relative to wildfires, can benefit wildlife habitat quality through improvements in forage, cover, and other vegetation characteristics. Therefore, managing for low‐severity burns and limiting large, severe wildfires, e.g. via prescribed burns or fire control policies, could positively impact the habitat quality of these three common species and, therefore, the economic and ecosystem services they provide.

Abstract The thermal efficiency Index (TEI) generated through infrared thermography is associated with the growth efficiency in pigs. It is hypothesized that pigs with high TEI are energetically less efficient and produce more radiant heat to the environment, whereas those with low TEI are more efficient with greater ability to conserve energy for growth and production while minimizing energy loss to the environment. This study evaluated the growth performance and carcass quality of grow-finish pigs selected based on low and high TEI categories. A total of 176 eight-week-old pigs were enrolled in a 16-week experiment, with 88 pigs per batch (replicated once over time) in a randomized complete block design. At nursery exit, pigs were scanned using an infrared camera to determine TEI (mean dorsal temperature/body weight0.75). In each replicate, 44 pigs with high TEI (“HIGH”: 4.29 ±0.39; body weight 15.62 ±1.43kg) and 44 with low TEI (“LOW”: 3.48 ±035; body weight 20.28 ±1.82kg) were selected and housed at 11 pigs/pen. The study was partitioned into the grower (8-12 weeks of age), Finisher1 (12-16 weeks) and Finisher2 (16-20 weeks) phases. TEI and body weight were recorded at the end of each phase to determine average daily gain (ADG). Individual feed intake was recorded daily using automated feeders (IVOG pro) to determine average daily feed intake (ADFI) and Gain: Feed (G: F). Pigs were marketed at 20 weeks of age and carcass grading data were obtained. Mixed model was used for data analysis with TEI category as main effect and replication as random effect. Spearman’s Rho correlation was used to explore the relationship between TEI and feed efficiency. In the grower phase, LOW pigs tended to gain more weight (p=0.06), but there was no difference in ADFI or G:F. During Finisher1, LOW pigs consumed more feed (p=0.02) and had greater ADG (p=0.01) with no difference in G:F. During Finisher2, there was no difference in ADFI, ADG or G:F between TEI categories. The overall ADG throughout grower-finisher stage was greater for LOW than HIGH pigs (p=0.01). LOW pigs had greater net weight at slaughter (p< 0.01), and fat content (p=0.03). There was no effect of TEI on loin depth. The lean yield percentage tended to be lower in LOW than HIGH pigs (p=0.05). The results of this study showed a decreasing correlation between TEI and G:F overtime from 12-20 weeks of age. At week 12, there was a moderate positive correlation (r= 0.38, p< 0.01). By week 16, the correlation weakened (r=0.25, p< 0.01). At week 20, the correlation was further reduced and not significant (r=0.15, p=0.06). In conclusion, this study reveals that TEI can be used to identify pigs with better performance in terms of weight gain and carcass yield.

Abstract Terminology planning in Sweden can be traced back to Linnaeus and Berzelius, but this article focuses on the period from the early 20th century. Initiatives from technicians and academies led to the creation of a national terminology centre, Tekniska nomenklaturcentralen/Terminologicentrum TNC. The article will trace the activities and financing of the centre 1941–2018. The Swedish government has promoted terminology planning through funding of the centre, but also through missions to public agencies. Important milestones will be covered, e.g. the Language Act, the national term bank Rikstermbanken, and the creation of joint groups for terminology. With the closing of TNC (2018) and the transfer of activities to the national language planning agency, Språkrådet, the situation for Swedish terminology planning changed.

The objective of the chloride based volatility project (CBV) was to demonstrate the ability to separate uranium from used fuel to enable process improvements resulting in 10x reduction of waste volume, while maintaining safeguards standards and global backend costs at $\$$1/MW-hr. Current industrial practices perform separations of used fuel using solvent media in the form of aqueous and molten salt processes, resulting in contaminated process waste. The CBV approach utilized solid state chemistry with no solvent media and was successful in chlorinating uranium and fission product oxides that sublimed into the gas phase and were collected in targeted condensation zones based on temperature gradients of chlorinated products. Recovery of better than 95% of initial uranium in the form of UCl4 was demonstrated when simulated used nuclear fuel was used. Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy, LIBS, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, UV-Vis, were combined into a high temperature flow cell design and utilized as process monitoring techniques to observed chlorinated products leave the reaction vessel in real time.

The improved understanding of electron transfer pathways in T. saccharolyticum will enable future efforts to transfer the robust ethanol production pathway from this microbe to other organisms, with potential implications for industrial biofuel production.

This study analyzes and evaluates the performance of various solvers and preconditioners for reservoir simulations of CO2 injection and long-term storage using the model 11B of SPE CSP (Society of Petroleum Engineers, 11th Comparative Solution Project) and the MATLAB Reservoir Simulation Toolbox (MRST). The SPE CSP 11 model serves as a benchmark for testing numerical methods for solving partial differential equations (PDEs) in reservoir simulations. The research focuses on the Biconjugate Gradient Stabilized (BiCGSTAB) and Loose Generalized Minimum Residual (LGMRES) solver methods, as well as multiple preconditioning techniques designed to improve convergence rates and reduce computational effort for CO2 storage. Extensive simulations were performed to compare the performance of different solver-preconditioner combinations under varying reservoir conditions, leveraging MRST’s flexible simulation capabilities. Key performance metrics, including iteration counts and computational time, were analyzed for the project. The results reveal trade-offs between computational efficiency and solution accuracy, providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of each approach. This study offers practical guidance for reservoir engineers and researchers seeking to analyze and optimize simulation workflows within MRST by identifying the strengths and limitations of specific solver-preconditioner combinations for complex linear systems.

The use of shallow spread footings is one of the least expensive foundation solutions. Shallow spread footings are often constructed in a cluster, resulting in an increase in settlement magnitude because of the Interaction effect. Interaction effect is due to the overlapping stress contours under the cluster of footings. Interaction effects need to be accounted for to ensure that the allowable settlement of the foundation is not exceeded. The paper proposes a simple method to hand-calculate the maximum settlement under a cluster of footings foundation by using the results of numerical simulation that compares the deformation behavior of a cluster of footings foundation and an equivalent mat foundation. The arrangement of footings and soil-modulus variation on the predicted settlement were investigated. Comparison of the predicted settlement and FEM settlement validates the use of the proposed method to estimate the maximum settlement of a cluster of footings foundation.