Academic literature on the topic 'Geo-Sourced materials'

This study examines the ways in which police authorities manage their personnel, as well as the factors militating against police authorities in managing their personnel for effective crime control and prevention in Nigeria. The study used both quantitative and qualitative designs to attempt to identify the criteria used in posting police officers. Data were obtained through questionnaires from 360 randomly selected respondents complemented by 15 in-depth interviews (IDI) undertaken in three geo-political regions in Nigeria namely: southeast, southwest and north central. The three geo-political regions were purposively chosen based on the incidences of armed robbery recorded in each. The study also used secondary data sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Nigeria Police Force as reference materials. Simple percentages and chi-squared tests were employed to analyse the collected data. The qualitative data were content analysed. The findings revealed that factors such as crime rate, population size, industrial development and land mass or political interference were not clearly defined criteria used in the posting of personnel. The number of police in a region does not equate to more or less crime; effective crime control and prevention depend on proper and effective utilization, as well as management, of police personnel. Police authorities are culpable of mismanagement of police personnel for personal gain to the detriment of citizens; most states are under-policed and under-staffed. This study also found that factors militating against the effective utilization and management of police personnel include: corruption, political interference, ethno-religious consideration, lack of funds and lack of facilities. Thus, the study recommends among other things, that the distribution of police personnel should be anchored to the population size, industrialization and volume of criminality in a particular place; there should be a gross reduction in the numbers of personnel attached to political officials, whereas those attached to individuals who are not entitled to personal police protection must be withdrawn and efforts made to recruit more people into the police force.

Soil pollution due to toxic elements (TEs) has been a core environmental concern globally, particularly in areas with developed industries. In this study, we sampled 300 surface (0–0.2 m) soil samples from Yuyao City in eastern China. Initially, the geo-accumulation index, potential ecological risk index, single pollution index, and Nemerow composite pollution index were used to evaluate the soil contamination status in Yuyao City. Ordinary kriging was then deployed to map the distribution of the soil TEs. Subsequently, indicator kriging was utilized to identify regions with high risk of TE pollution. Finally, the positive matrix factorization model was used to apportion the sources of the different TEs. Our results indicated that the mean content of different TEs kept the order: Zn > Cr > Pb > Cu > Ni > As > Hg ≈ Cd. Soil pollution was mainly caused by Cd and Hg in the soil of Yuyao City, while the content of other TEs was maintained at a safe level. Regions with high TE content and high pollution risk of TEs are mainly located in the central part of Yuyao City. Four sources of soil TEs were apportioned in Yuyao City. The Pb, Hg, and Zn contents in soil were mainly derived from traffic activities, coal combustion, and smelting. Meanwhile, Cu was mainly sourced from industrial emissions and atmospheric deposition, Cr and Ni mainly originated from soil parental materials, and Cd and As were produced by industrial and agricultural activities. Our study provides important implications for improving the soil environment and contributes to the development of efficient strategies for TE pollution control and remediation.

Groundwater contamination has been a growing issue in recent times as a result of population growth, urbanization and industrialization. Groundwater is highly susceptible to impacts associated with anthropogenic activities such as the release of waste materials to the environment. The groundwater vulnerability of an area is a function of the geologic and environmental factors of the area. The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of geological and environmental factors on groundwater quality in the Ndele Area of Southern Nigeria. Estimations of groundwater flow direction and overland flow direction in the study area were used to establish the likely groundwater vulnerable areas. The water quality index of groundwater sourced from hand-dug wells and boreholes in the study area was used to appraise the groundwater quality of different locations in the area. Water Quality Index is a means of summarizing and reporting water quality in a consistent manner. The mean values of water quality index parameters evaluated revealed that the WQI of water samples sourced from hand dug wells in the lower altitudes and hydraulc head areas (mini-watershed area) were found to be 101.5, which is categorised to be "unsafe for drinking," while those of the two control locations with higher altitudes and hydraulic heads were 69.0 and 67.2, respectively, and are categorised to be "poor water quality." Water samples sourced from boreholes with average depths of 40m in the lower altitudes and hydraulic head areas (mini-watershed areas) and two control areas were found to be 39.0, 44.3, and 41.2 m respectively and categorized to be "good water quality". Thus, based on some environmental ill practices such as the use of open pit toilets, discharge of suckaway to flow with surface runoffs, and improper disposal of domestic wastes in the area, this study has revealed that groundwater at the locations with lower hydraulic heads and altitudes (mini-watershed area) is highly vulnerable. This may be attributed to the fact that lower lands and hydraulic head areas are susceptible to overland and groundwater flow; hence, infiltration and water table recharge by water from higher altitudes that contaminate groundwater in such areas.

The Greater Earth Lunar Power Station (GE -LPS) is a multi-purpose concept that aims to solve several critical issues related to lunar development and terrestrial energy production. As the GE -LPS concept and its energy production functions may be scaled to any dimension, larger versions could be positioned in Earth orbit to provide clean solar energy for terrestrial purposes and thereby reduce the mass needed to be launched from Earth to build SPS units by 80% or more. The construction of the GE -LPS from mostly lunar materials requires the establishment of industrial-scale automated mining and manufacturing processes on the Moon. A key technology is a Lunar Space Elevator (LSE) deployed as a transportation system to move SPS components from an anchor point on the surface of the Moon to a docking and assembly station at Earth-Moon Lagrange point 1 (EM-L1). Significantly, a LSE could be built today with existing tether materials such as Dyneema or Zylon which are already commercially available. Additionally, lunar sourced basalt fibre may be sufficient for reinforcing and extending the LSE once it becomes operational. An Earth-pointing LSE could become a valuable cislunar infrastructure asset – “the Suez Canal of cislunar space” – linking the Earth and Moon economies. Note: The ‘O’ symbol is an ancient European symbol for planet Earth: it is used here to mean “Greater Earth”, a region defined by the Earth’s gravitational field, which includes the Moon. Keywords: Solar Power Satellite, Lunar ISRU, Lunar Space Elevator, Energy, Europe

The teaching and designing of modules at Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) is the principal responsibility of a single body of teaching staff although some authors and content reviewers could be sourced from elsewhere if human resources are not available in ZOU. This survey, through a case study, examines the involvement of lecturers and staff in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies in instructional materials development for open and distance learning (ODL). The study inquired into the time Lecturers spent on module development and writing, their levels of satisfaction with the materials they would have produced, their preferences with regard to teaching and instructional materials development strategies, and their views on how the process of instructional materials development at the university can be improved. The study found out that there is need for more time for materials development, better coordination and planning, greater consultation among colleagues, and adequate support services in instructional materials development for ODL to improve on the quality of modules. The department should be fully involved in instructional materials design and development to be effectively familiar with the ODL mode of learning and the students for whom the materials are intended. There is need for course writers (designers), prior to developing instructional materials, to be allowed to spend time in the regional centres which are located in the ten geo-political regions of Zimbabwe so that they become familiar with the local learning context. One of the main recommendations is that there is need for course writers and content reviewers as well as editors to always undergo constant training in ODL and instructional materials development for ODL.

BackgroundPresently, a comprehensive analysis of integrin subunit genes (ITGs) in bladder cancer (BLCA) is absent. This study endeavored to thoroughly analyze the utility of ITGs in BLCA through computer algorithm-based bioinformatics.MethodsBLCA-related materials were sourced from reputable databases, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). R software-based bioinformatics analyses included limma-differential expression analysis, survival-Cox analysis, glmnet-Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), clusterProfiler-functional annotation, and gsva-estimate-immune landscape analysis. The expression difference of key genes was verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).ResultsAmong the 11 ITGs that were abnormally expressed in BLCA, ITGA7, ITGA5, and ITGB6 were categorized as the optimal variables for structuring the risk model. The high-risk subcategories were typified by brief survival, abysmal prognosis, prominent immune and stromal markers, and depressed tumor purity. The risk model was also an isolated indicator of the impact of clinical outcomes in BLCA patients. Moreover, the risk model, specifically the high-risk subcategory with inferior prognosis, became heavily interlinked with the immune-inflammatory response and smooth muscle contraction and relaxation.ConclusionThis study determined three ITGs with prognostic values (ITGA7, ITGA5, and ITGB6), composed a novel (ITG-associated) prognostic gene signature, and preliminarily probed the latent molecular mechanisms of the model.

The devastation caused by the illegal dumping and burning of tires has been staggering. In civil engineering, using tires engineering properties has become a major concern. For this investigation, the research used locally sourced tire chips and sand. Using tire chips sand as an alternative backfill material requires less pressure and has more improved properties than traditional backfill. Four specimens were utilized in this experiment: pure sand and sand mixtures containing 20%, 30%, and 40% tire chips, respectively. Both the Direct Shear and Triaxial Apparatus, two of the most important geotechnical tools, were used to compare and evaluate the shear properties of soil and sand tire chips. 50, 100, and 150 kPa Confining pressure and normal stress have been utilized to maintain a consistent stress level. Direct shear apparatus had a circular shape with an area of 16.62 cm2 and Triaxial shear apparatus had a height of 7.2 cm and a diameter of 3.2 cm. The stress-strain behavior of both apparatuses under ordinary loading and deviatoric stress was reported. The angles of internal friction (Φ′) and cohesion (c′) were measured for both equipment and specimens with and without tire chips, and the failure planes for direct shear and triaxial tests were reported. In both the direct and triaxial shear tests, 30% of the tire chips sand exhibit the best results, respectively. The addition of tire chips may significantly improve the toughness of the soil.

AbstractRare-earth elements (REEs) supply raw materials that constitute many of our modern critical infrastructure, defense, technology, and electrification needs. Despite REE accumulations occurring in conventional bedrock and ion-adsorption deposits sourced from weathering of igneous rocks, unconventional host materials such as coal and related sedimentary strata have been identified as promising sources of REEs to meet growing demand. To maximize the potential of unconventional resources such as REE-coal systems, new approaches are needed overcome challenges from mineral systems with no known deposits and areas with sparse geochemical data. This article presents a systematic knowledge-data resource assessment method for predicting and identifying REE resource potential and occurrence in these unconventional systems. The method utilizes a geologic and geospatial knowledge-data approach informed and guided by REE accumulation mechanisms to systematically assess and identify areas of higher enrichment. An assessment of the Powder River Basin is presented as a test case to demonstrate the method workflow and results. The key output is a potential enrichment score map reported with varying confidence levels based on the amount of supporting evidence. Results from the test case indicate several locations with promising potential for different types of coal-REE deposits, demonstrating the viability of the method for exploration and assessment of unconventional REE resources. The method is flexible by design and, with sufficient applicable knowledge and data, can be adapted for assessing critical mineral systems in other sedimentary systems as well.

La pierre. À en juger par le nombre de projets réalisés, de livres et d’articles publiés, de formations suivies, d’expositions organisées et de conférences données autour de son utilisation structurelle, cet ancien matériau de construction connait manifestement un renouveau dans l’architecture contemporaine. Aux côtés d’autres matériaux bio ou géosourcés, présentés comme des alternatives écologiques à leurs homologues synthétiques (principalement le béton, l’acier etla brique), la pierre fait l’objet d’appréciations très positives de la part des professionnels de la construction et du grand public dans un certain nombre de pays d’Europe occidentale. Cet engouement pour les matériaux dits naturels coïncide avec une évolution plus large de la manière dont l’architecture est aujourd’hui présentée, discutée et évaluée, largement inspirée parle material turn dans le domaine de material studies autour de l’an 2000. Ce tournant a vu l’intérêt pour le style, la fonction ou le contenu symbolique des bâtiments largement supplanté par l’attention portée aux matériaux dont ils sont faits, leur fabrication, usage et agency. Les professionnels comme le grand public ont en effet dorénavant tendance à privilégier les considérations sociales, culturelles, économiques et environnementales autour de la construction,de l’utilisation et de l’après-vie des bâtiments, en minimisant et en mettant parfois de côté les questions de forme – l’essence physique des bâtiments.La thèse principale défendue dans Form follows material ? est que la prise en compte du material turn dans la recherche architecturale, aussi précieuse qu’elle ait été en élargissant l’horizon des préoccupations de la discipline, a également le potentiel de remettre fondamentalement en question la façon dont nous pensons la forme. Cette recherche explore donc ce que l’utilisation de la pierre en structure fait à l’architecture contemporaine, en termes d’usages et de forme. Son objectif est moins de déduire une théorie globale de la construction en pierre massive aujourd’hui que d’induire des façons utiles de l’interpréter. Chacun des neuf chapitres représente une perspective à travers laquelle nous pouvons commencer à la situer dans l’histoire récente de l’architecture et à considérer ses conséquences pour la théorie et la pratique architecturale. Ces perspectives ont émergé d’un travail ethnographique sur le terrain autour d’une série de projets de construction (dessinés par Atelier Archiplein, Atelier Architecture Perraudin, Aulets Arquitectes,Institut Balear de l’Habitatge IBAVI et Caruso St John Architects) en cours de réalisation en Suisse, en Espagne et en Angleterre — où l’intérêt pour le matériau est en train de se développer. La pierre est ainsi examinée dans le cadre de son utilisation à des fins structurelles — c’est-à-dire porteuses ou autoportantes — dans la construction aujourd’hui à travers : les raisons pour lesquelles on choisit de l’employer ; la logique de son approvisionnement ; l’expertise à laquelle elle fait appel ; ses prétendus fondements moraux ; le travail impliqué dans son extraction et sa transformation ; ses tendances brutalistes ; ses associations stylistiques ; et, enfin, sa capacité à durer
Stone. If the number of published projects, magazine features, workshops, university courses,exhibitions, and conferences articulated around its structural use is anything to go by, the age-oldbuilding material appears to be undergoing something of a revival in contemporary architecture. Alongside other bio or geo-sourced building materials, portrayed as ecological alternatives totheir synthetic counterparts (mainly concrete, steel and fired brick) stone has been the object ofgrowing enthusiasm among professionals of the built environment as well as the wider public in anumber of West European countries. This enthusiasm for so-called natural materials coincideswith a broader shift in how architecture today is presented, discussed and its quality evaluated,largely inspired by the material turn within the field of material studies around the year 2000 thatsaw a flourishing of interest in things, their agency, fabrication, exchange and raw matter. Thisshift has seen concern for the style, function or symbolic content of buildings largely supersededby an attention to the materials they are made of. It has tended to privilege social, cultural,economic and environmental considerations around the making, use and after-life of buildings, attimes minimising and sidelining questions of form — the physical essence and shape ofbuildings.The principal thesis defended in Form follows Material? is that the espousal of the material turnin architectural research, immensely valuable as it has been in expanding the discipline’s horizonof concern, also carries the potential to fundamentally challenge how we think about form, itscentral preoccupation. The research thus set out to explore what employing stone in structure isdoing to contemporary architecture, in terms of both uses and form. Its objective has been less tod educe an overarching theory of building in massive stone today than to induce useful ways ofinterpreting the trend as it continues to evolve. Each of the nine chapters represents oneperspective through which we might begin to situate it within recent architectural history and to consider its consequences for contemporary architectural theory and practice. These perspectiveshave emerged out of my ethnographic fieldwork around a series of building projects in themaking (drawn by Atelier Archiplein, Atelier Architecture Perraudin, Aulets Arquitectes, InstitutBalear de l’Habitatge IBAVI et Caruso St John Architects) in Switzerland, Spain and England —where a critical mass of interest in the material is developing. The thesis thus considers stoneused for structural — that is to say load-bearing or self-supporting — purposes in construction today in terms of: the reasons for choosing to employ it; the logic of its supply; the expertise itcalls upon; its purported moral underpinnings; the labour involved in its extraction and transformation; its brutalist tendencies; stylistic associations; and finally, its capacity to last