Previous estimates of land-atmosphere interaction (the impact of soil moisture on precipitation) have been limited by a lack of observational data and by the model dependence of computational estimates. To counter the second limitation, a dozen climate-modeling groups have recently performed the same highly controlled numerical experiment as part of a coordinated comparison project. This allows...

Bricks manufactured from dried sludge collected from an industrial wastewater treatment plant were investigated. Results of tests indicated that the sludge proportion and the firing temperature were the two key factors determining the brick quality. Increasing the sludge content results in a decrease of brick shrinkage, water absorption, and compressive strength. Results also showed that the br...

Changes in electrolyte leakage and viability in response to dehydration stress were examined in two species of seeds that do not survive desiccation. Leakage from silver maple (Acer saccharinum L.) seeds increased markedly as seed moisture contents decreased from 45 to 35% (fresh weight basis) and germination decreased from 97 to 5%, coincidentally. Time course curves of imbibitional leakage fr...

Projectile damage to building stone is a widespread phenomenon. Sites damaged 100 years ago during the First World War still see daily use, while in a more contemporary setting numerous reports show the damage to buildings in Babylon, Mosul and Palmyra. While research has been carried out on the long-term effects of conflict such as fire damage, little is known about the protracted damage susta...

The seed moisture level marking the onset of imbibitional injury (breakpoint) was determined for two cultivars of Phaseolus vulgaris L. cvs ;Tendercrop' (TC) and ;Kinghorn Wax' (KW). At 20 degrees C the breakpoints were 0.15 gram H(2)O/gram dry weight (gram per gram) for TC and 0.11 gram per gram for KW. When seeds were imbibed at 5 degrees C, the breakpoints were 0.19 gram per gram (TC) and 0....

Relationships between measured moisture and qualitative dampness indicators (mold odor, visible mold, visible water damage, or peeling paint) were evaluated using data collected from California homes in a prospective birth cohort study when the infants were 6 or 12 months of age (737 home visits). For repeated visits, agreement between observation of the presence/absence of each qualitative ind...

Using nano-technology materials in the asphalt pavement industry is new compared with Portland cement concrete. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of nano-silica modification on some properties of a penetration grade asphalt cement and a typical asphalt concrete. 60/70 penetration grade bitumen was modified with different percentages of nano-silica (i.e. 1, 3 and 5%,...