scholarly journals State-of-the-Art Review of Enzyme-Induced Calcite Precipitation (EICP) for Ground Improvement: Applications and Prospects

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 492
Author(s):  
Mohamed G. Arab ◽  
Rami Alsodi ◽  
Abdullah Almajed ◽  
Hideaki Yasuhara ◽  
Waleed Zeiada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Carbonate ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Ground Improvement ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Soil Deposits ◽  
Global Construction ◽  
Strength And Stiffness

The global construction industry consumes huge amounts of mined materials that are considered unsustainable for earth resources. In addition, Portland cement which is a key element in concrete and most construction materials is considered one of the main contributors to worldwide CO2 emissions. On the other hand, natural cemented soil deposits are examples of sustainable structures that have survived decades of severe environmental conditions. Mimicking these natural biological systems provide an alternative to the current practices of construction materials production. Enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) is a bio-inspired technique based on the precipitation of calcium carbonate for enhancing the geo-mechanical properties of soils. In this technique, calcium carbonate acts as a cementitious agent that binds the soil particles together at the points of contact, hence, increasing the strength and stiffness of treated soils, while relatively reducing the soil permeability and porosity. The achieved enhancements make EICP useful for applications such as ground improvement, construction materials, and erosion control over traditional binders. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of EICP for ground improvement including the fundamental basics of EICP treatment. The paper also discusses the chemical and physical factors affecting the performance of EICP such as enzyme source, enzyme activity and solution constitutes. Moreover, the paper reviews the different methods and testing techniques used in the application of EICP for soil treatment. Furthermore, the paper compares EICP with other biomineralization techniques in terms of performance and applicability on ground improvement. Finally, the paper discusses the research gaps and existing challenges concerning the commercialization and large-scale implementation of the technology.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of Calcium Carbonate Whisker in Cementitious Composites

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingli Cao ◽  
Mehran Khan ◽  
Shakeel Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Carbonate ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Physical And Mechanical Properties ◽  
Cementitious Composites ◽  
Toughening Mechanism ◽  
Micro Scale ◽  
Calcium Carbonate Whisker

Cementitious composites are porous material having complex structure system consist of hydration products, un-hydrated cement particles and pore solutions of various scales. Calcium carbonate whisker is a new type of low cost micro-scale filler fiber gaining popularity in the field of construction materials. However, addition of whisker has effect on physical, mechanical and microstructural characteristics of cementitious composites. Also, the low production cost of whisker will make the use of micro fiber more extensive in large scale construction projects. In this study, the effect of calcium carbonate whisker on physical, mechanical and microstructural properties of cementitious composites with different fiber contents are investigated. The fluidity, drying shrinkage, pore structure, impact resistance, compressive, flexural and splitting-tensile strength of whisker-mortar are considered. The scanning electron microscopy analysis is also performed to examine the microstructural and toughening mechanism of whisker reinforced composites. It was concluded that the addition of calcium carbonate whisker up to 10 % improves the physical and mechanical properties of cementitious composites and is suggested to be the optimize content. The calcium carbonate whisker also resists the crack propagation at micro scale and showed the toughening mechanism with better interfacial properties between whisker and matrix.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Soil Treatment Using Calcium Carbonate Precipitation from Cultivated and Lyophilized Bacteria in Soil’s Compaction Water

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 545
Author(s):  
Miguel Valencia-Galindo ◽  
Esteban Sáez ◽  
Carlos Ovalle ◽  
Francisco Ruz
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Carbonate ◽  
Laboratory Scale ◽  
Carbonate Precipitation ◽  
Swelling Potential ◽  
Calcium Carbonate Precipitation ◽  
Compaction Process ◽  
Expansive Clays ◽  
Soil Deposits ◽  
Calcium Sources ◽  
Strength And Stiffness

Microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a bio-inspired solution where bacteria metabolize urea to precipitate. This carbonate acts as a bio-cement that bonds soil particles. The existing framework has focused mainly on applying MICP through infiltration of liquid bacterial solutions in existing soil deposits. However, this technique is inefficient in soils with high fines content and low hydraulic conductivity, and thus few studies have focused on the use of MICP in fine soils. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of MICP applied to compaction water in soils containing expansive clays and sandy silts. This approach searches for a better distribution of bacteria, nutrients, and calcium sources and is easy to apply if associated with a compaction process. In soils with expansive minerals, the effect of MICP in swelling potential was explored at laboratory and field scales. In sandy silts, the evolution of the stiffness and strength were studied at the laboratory scale. The treatment at the laboratory scale reduced the swelling potential; nevertheless, no significant effect of MICP was found in the field test. In sandy silts, the strength and stiffness increased under unsaturated conditions; however, subsequent saturation dissolved the cementation and the improvement vanished.

Factors affecting microstructural scale in liquid crystalline polymers

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 220-221
Author(s):  
Christine M. Dannels ◽  
Christopher Viney
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Crystalline ◽  
Liquid Crystalline Polymers ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Crystalline Polymers ◽  
Thermal Expansion Coefficients ◽  
Low Thermal Expansion ◽  
Lower Viscosity ◽  
Fine Microstructure ◽  
Planar Orientation ◽  
Strength And Stiffness

Processing polymers from the liquid crystalline state offers several advantages compared to processing from conventional fluids. These include: better axial strength and stiffness in fibers, better planar orientation in films, lower viscosity during processing, low solidification shrinkage of injection moldings (thermotropic processing), and low thermal expansion coefficients. However, the compressive strength of the solid is disappointing. Previous efforts to improve this property have focussed on synthesizing stiffer molecules. The effect of microstructural scale has been overlooked, even though its relevance to the mechanical and physical properties of more traditional materials is well established. By analogy with the behavior of metals and ceramics, one would expect a fine microstructure (i..e. a high density of orientational defects) to be desirable.Also, because much microstructural detail in liquid crystalline polymers occurs on a scale close to the wavelength of light, light is scattered on passing through these materials.

scholarly journals Documentary data and the study of past droughts: a global state of the art

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 1915-1960 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf Brázdil ◽  
Andrea Kiss ◽  
Jürg Luterbacher ◽  
David J. Nash ◽  
Ladislava Řezníčková
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Drought Indices ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
Climatic Trends ◽  
Instrumental Observations ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Epigraphic Evidence ◽  
Administrative Evidence

Abstract. The use of documentary evidence to investigate past climatic trends and events has become a recognised approach in recent decades. This contribution presents the state of the art in its application to droughts. The range of documentary evidence is very wide, including general annals, chronicles, memoirs and diaries kept by missionaries, travellers and those specifically interested in the weather; records kept by administrators tasked with keeping accounts and other financial and economic records; legal-administrative evidence; religious sources; letters; songs; newspapers and journals; pictographic evidence; chronograms; epigraphic evidence; early instrumental observations; society commentaries; and compilations and books. These are available from many parts of the world. This variety of documentary information is evaluated with respect to the reconstruction of hydroclimatic conditions (precipitation, drought frequency and drought indices). Documentary-based drought reconstructions are then addressed in terms of long-term spatio-temporal fluctuations, major drought events, relationships with external forcing and large-scale climate drivers, socio-economic impacts and human responses. Documentary-based drought series are also considered from the viewpoint of spatio-temporal variability for certain continents, and their employment together with hydroclimate reconstructions from other proxies (in particular tree rings) is discussed. Finally, conclusions are drawn, and challenges for the future use of documentary evidence in the study of droughts are presented.

scholarly journals Bioengineered Islet Cell Transplantation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Bellofatto ◽  
Beat Moeckli ◽  
Charles-Henri Wassmer ◽  
Margaux Laurent ◽  
Graziano Oldani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Diabetes Research ◽  
Islet Cell Transplantation ◽  
Β Cell ◽  
Cell Compartment ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Insulin Activity ◽  
On Chip

Abstract Purpose of Review β cell replacement via whole pancreas or islet transplantation has greatly evolved for the cure of type 1 diabetes. Both these strategies are however still affected by several limitations. Pancreas bioengineering holds the potential to overcome these hurdles aiming to repair and regenerate β cell compartment. In this review, we detail the state-of-the-art and recent progress in the bioengineering field applied to diabetes research. Recent Findings The primary target of pancreatic bioengineering is to manufacture a construct supporting insulin activity in vivo. Scaffold-base technique, 3D bioprinting, macro-devices, insulin-secreting organoids, and pancreas-on-chip represent the most promising technologies for pancreatic bioengineering. Summary There are several factors affecting the clinical application of these technologies, and studies reported so far are encouraging but need to be optimized. Nevertheless pancreas bioengineering is evolving very quickly and its combination with stem cell research developments can only accelerate this trend.

scholarly journals Aphid–Plant–Phytovirus Pathosystems: Influencing Factors from Vector Behaviour to Virus Spread

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 502
Author(s):  
Junior Corneille Fingu-Mabola ◽  
Frédéric Francis
Keyword(s):  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Virus Transmission ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Vector Borne Diseases ◽  
Vector Behaviour ◽  
Crop Fields ◽  
Host Seeking ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Vector Efficiency

Aphids are responsible for the spread of more than half of the known phytovirus species. Virus transmission within the plant–aphid–phytovirus pathosystem depends on vector mobility which allows the aphid to reach its host plant and on vector efficiency in terms of ability to transmit phytoviruses. However, several other factors can influence the phytoviruses transmission process and have significant epidemiological consequences. In this review, we aimed to analyse the aphid behaviours and influencing factors affecting phytovirus spread. We discussed the impact of vector host-seeking and dispersal behaviours mostly involved in aphid-born phytovirus spread but also the effect of feeding behaviours and life history traits involved in plant–aphid–phytovirus relationships on vector performances. We also noted that these behaviours are influenced by factors inherent to the interactions between pathosystem components (mode of transmission of phytoviruses, vector efficiency, plant resistance, …) and several biological, biochemical, chemical or physical factors related to the environment of these pathosystem components, most of them being manipulated as means to control vector-borne diseases in the crop fields.

scholarly journals VIPPrint: Validating Synthetic Image Detection and Source Linking Methods on a Large Scale Dataset of Printed Documents

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Anselmo Ferreira ◽  
Ehsan Nowroozi ◽  
Mauro Barni
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Child Pornography ◽  
Forensic Analysis ◽  
Synthetic Image ◽  
Image Detection ◽  
Face Images ◽  
Large Scale Dataset ◽  
Scanned Images ◽  
Analysis Of The Images

The possibility of carrying out a meaningful forensic analysis on printed and scanned images plays a major role in many applications. First of all, printed documents are often associated with criminal activities, such as terrorist plans, child pornography, and even fake packages. Additionally, printing and scanning can be used to hide the traces of image manipulation or the synthetic nature of images, since the artifacts commonly found in manipulated and synthetic images are gone after the images are printed and scanned. A problem hindering research in this area is the lack of large scale reference datasets to be used for algorithm development and benchmarking. Motivated by this issue, we present a new dataset composed of a large number of synthetic and natural printed face images. To highlight the difficulties associated with the analysis of the images of the dataset, we carried out an extensive set of experiments comparing several printer attribution methods. We also verified that state-of-the-art methods to distinguish natural and synthetic face images fail when applied to print and scanned images. We envision that the availability of the new dataset and the preliminary experiments we carried out will motivate and facilitate further research in this area.

Iron oxide pigments

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Pfaff
Keyword(s):  
Iron Oxide ◽  
Solid State ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
High Importance ◽  
Precipitation Processes ◽  
Iron Oxide Pigments ◽  
Natural And Synthetic

AbstractNatural and synthetic iron oxide pigments are by far the most important colored pigments. Their high importance is based on the variety of stable colors ranging from yellow via orange, red and brown to black. Iron oxide yellow (α-FeOOH), iron oxide red (α-Fe2O3) and iron oxide black (Fe3O4) are the most important representatives of the iron oxide pigments. Synthetic iron oxide pigments are produced industrially on a large scale by solid-state processes, precipitation processes and by the Laux process. Main advantages of synthetic iron oxide pigments compared with natural types are their pure hue, the consistent, reproducible quality and their tinting strength. Iron oxide pigments are mainly used in construction materials, paints, coatings, and plastics, but also in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and special applications such as ceramics, magnetic coatings and toners.

scholarly journals SketchGNN: Semantic Sketch Segmentation with Graph Neural Networks

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Lumin Yang ◽  
Jiajie Zhuang ◽  
Hongbo Fu ◽  
Xiangzhi Wei ◽  
Kun Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Neural Networks ◽  
Network Architecture ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Semantic Segmentation ◽  
Structure Information ◽  
Graph Neural Networks ◽  
Node Labels ◽  
Point Level

We introduce SketchGNN , a convolutional graph neural network for semantic segmentation and labeling of freehand vector sketches. We treat an input stroke-based sketch as a graph with nodes representing the sampled points along input strokes and edges encoding the stroke structure information. To predict the per-node labels, our SketchGNN uses graph convolution and a static-dynamic branching network architecture to extract the features at three levels, i.e., point-level, stroke-level, and sketch-level. SketchGNN significantly improves the accuracy of the state-of-the-art methods for semantic sketch segmentation (by 11.2% in the pixel-based metric and 18.2% in the component-based metric over a large-scale challenging SPG dataset) and has magnitudes fewer parameters than both image-based and sequence-based methods.

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