Maqarin Phase IV report

Cement and concrete are extensively used in the construction of repositories for low- and intermediate-level radioactive wastes (L/ILW). In underground silos, like those in Sweden and Finland for example, much of the waste is conditioned with concrete (e.g. spent ionexchange resins) and is packed in concrete containers (e.g. Figure 1.1)1. Even in many high-level radioactive waste (HLW) repositories, cement and concrete may be widely used. Instances include the paving of tunnels, shotcreting of tunnel walls, and injection and grouting of fractures. Consequently, in many repository designs, cement-based materials are expected to dominate the repository. In the Swiss L/ILW concept, for example, current designs envisage the use of up to 1.5 million tonnes of cement, approximately 85-90% by weight of the total repository. This will ensure the long-term maintenance of hyperalkaline conditions, predicted to suppress the solubility of key radionuclides in the waste (e.g. Hodgkinson and Robinson, 1987) and to enhance their sorption on the cement (e.g. Stumpf et al., 2004)

Current Perspectives on Viral Disease Outbreaks

The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded the world that infectious diseases are still important. The last 40 years have experienced the emergence of new or resurging viral diseases such as AIDS, ebola, MERS, SARS, Zika, and others. These diseases display diverse epidemiologies ranging from sexual transmission to vector-borne transmission (or both, in the case of Zika). This book provides an overview of recent developments in the detection, monitoring, treatment, and control of several viral diseases that have caused recent epidemics or pandemics

AN ECOLOGICAL SURVEY OF EAST TEXAS SALAMANDERS ACROSS THE CAMP TYLER OUTDOOR FIELD SCHOOL IN SMITH COUNTY, TEXAS

Amphibians are a unique class of organisms with a very long and storied evolutionary history of survival. Many modern amphibian clades occupy several vital ecological roles within their native freshwater environments. One of these roles, typically includes functioning as an ecological indicator species, whereby the presence of stable and diverse populations of many amphibian species, including salamanders, within a freshwater ecosystem have long been considered ecological indicators of good habitat quality and stable ecosystem health. Similarly, salamanders also function as important members of their local food webs and act as valuable mediators of complex trophic hierarchies to facilitate nutrient cycling between trophic levels throughout their equally complex life histories. However, countless amphibians today are experiencing significant population declines – with many sensitive and endemic species currently facing the imminent threat of widespread extinction events that are primarily driven by anthropogenic activities. Concerningly, this could also spell disaster for numerous other clades and communities within these same freshwater ecosystems. These changes in amphibian distribution and diversity are only one small component in many broad scale declines in global biodiversity that have been recognized in recent decades. These collective declines have been described as a “sixth mass extinction.” Because of their status as ecological indicator species, the widespread reduction in many amphibian communities may also serve as a harbinger of further biological crises in the near future. As a result, an updated record of sensitive amphibian species, especially salamanders, needs to be collected and compiled for use in assessing, tracking, and maintaining the health and well-being of many vital freshwater ecosystems. Here, a field survey of several East Texas salamander species was conducted from October of 2022 through April of 2023 – during their peak activity season – to create an updated inventory of historic and anecdotal salamander populations previously reported at the Camp Tyler Outdoor School, a local non-profit field school for grades K-12, located in Smith County, Texas. All three target salamander species were observed and identified during this period, although current findings seem to indicate that some these animals, especially the previously documented population of Western lesser sirens (Siren intermedia nettingi) may have experienced significant population declines since they were last surveyed. This is likely the result of a variety of ecological factors that have changed over time, including an increased anthropogenic presence within the area, land use changes, possible degradations in water and habitat quality, changing climatic conditions, and out competition with more tolerant clades in their aquatic environment

Expedition 350 methods

Introduction This chapter of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 350 Proceedings volume documents the procedures and tools employed in the various shipboard laboratories of the R/V JOIDES Resolution during Expedition 350. This information applies only to shipboard work described in the Expedition Reports section of this volume. Methods for shore-based analyses of Expedition 350 samples and data will be described in the individual scientific contributions to be published in the open literature or in the Expedition Research Results section of this volume. This section describes procedures and equipment used for drilling, coring, and hole completion; core handling; computation of depth for samples and measurements; and sequence of shipboard analyses. Subsequent sections describe specific laboratory procedures and instruments in more details