Browsing by Subject "database"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Effects of Mix Design Parameters on Indirect Tensile Strength and Field Cracking Performance of Asphalt Pavements
    (2013-09) Hanson, Chelsea
    Thermal cracking of asphalt concrete pavements is a severe problem in cold climate regions. Thermal cracking occurs due to asphalt pavements contracting when subjected to very cold temperatures. This cold environment also leads to the embrittlement of asphalt materials. This combination of thermal contraction and increased brittle behavior leads to formation of transverse cracks in the pavement surface. These cracks decrease the integrity of the pavement and reduce the ride quality thus increasing the maintenance and rehabilitation expenses. Presently, no laboratory performance test is required by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) asphalt material specification, as part of acceptance criteria. This significantly increases the risk for poor transverse cracking performance. The objective for this research study is to analyze the effects of mix design parameters on the indirect tensile strength and field cracking performance of asphalt pavements. A comprehensive database of existing mix design information, laboratory test results and pavement performance records was created to perform a statistical analysis. The data obtained from MnDOT was used to create the aforementioned database. The analysis was done to investigate if any mix design parameters (such as, asphalt film thickness, voids in mineral aggregate, asphalt binder grade) had a statistically significant effect on the field cracking performance. It also investigated the suitability of the indirect tensile strength from the modified Lottman test (AASHTO T 283) as a laboratory performance measure to predict pavement cracking.
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    Geometries for Minnesota Database 2019
    (2019-11-20) Verma, Pragya; Truhlar, Donald G.; truhlar@umn.edu; Truhlar, Donald G.; University of Minnesota Truhlar Research Group
    Minnesota Database 2019 comprises of a diverse set of chemical data that can be used for benchmarking electronic structure calculations and/or optimizing density functionals or wave function methods. The reference values of the data have been published [P. Verma et al., J. Phys. Chem. A 123, 2966-2990 (2019); doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpca.8b11499], and the present compendium provides the molecular geometries, basis set information, and settings that we have used for calculations to compare to the reference data. There are 56 subdatabases in Database 2019, and the data include a variety of atomic and molecular properties, including atomization energies, reaction energies, bond dissociation energies, isomerization energies, noncovalent complexation energies, proton affinities, electron affinities, ionization potentials, barrier heights, thermochemistry of hydrocarbons, absolute atomic energies, vertical and adiabatic electronic excitation energies, and geometries of molecules; both main-group and transition-metal-containing systems are present.
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    Integrated Dietary Supplement Knowledge Base (iDISK)
    (2019-07-25) Rizvi, Rubina F; Vasilakes, Jake A; Adam, Terrence J; Melton, Genevieve B; Bishop, Jeffrey R; Bian, Jiang; Tao, Cui; Zhang, Rui; zhan1386@umn.edu; Zhang, Rui; University of Minnesota Institute for Health Informatics, Natural Language Processing / Information Extraction (NLP/IE) Program
    The integrated Dietary Supplements Knowledge Base (iDISK) covers a variety of dietary supplements, including vitamins, herbs, minerals, etc. It was standardized and integrated from the Dietary Supplements Label Database (DSLD), the "About Herbs" database from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), the Canadian Natural Health Products and Ingredients database (NHP), and the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database (NMCD) developed by the Therapeutic Research Center (TRC). iDISK contains a variety of attributes and relationships describing information about each dietary supplement such as which products it is an ingredient of and what drugs it might interact with.
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    Leveraging Minnesota's Stormwater Data for Improved Modeling and Management of Water Quality in Cities
    (2024) Finlay, Jacques, C.; Janke, Ben D.; Trojan, Michael; Wilson, Bruce; Marek-Spartz, Mary
    This Minnesota Stormwater Research Council project distilled recent urban stormwater data into a curated database representing more than 14,000 storm events across 91 sites in Minnesota. The database represents the outcome of hard work and large investments in collection of stormwater data by many individuals and organizations over the past 15 years. We applied the database to generate characterization of runoff quantity and quality specific to Minnesota, and used it to reveal prominent features of stormwater quality and identify relationships between land cover, climate, and major stormwater pollutants. In this report, we present the database, major findings from our analyses, and discuss further opportunities to leverage stormwater data collection to research and management.
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    Marketing Minnesota's Fields and Forests: Research on the Potential for Developing a Farm Stay Database and Joint Marketing Program in Minnesota
    (University of Minnesota Tourism Center, 2008) Schuweiler, Andrea
    Considering the large impact that both agriculture and tourism have on the state of Minnesota, expanding agritourism opportunities may be an important boost to both economies. In 2008 the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), through its Community Assistance Program (CAP), supported a research project to explore agritourism opportunities in Minnesota, particularly the concept of creating a network of “farm stays” to be cooperatively marketed.
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    The Minnesota Dye Trace Database
    (http://www.mgwa.org/mgwa-conferences/mgwa-2017-spring-conference/, 2017-04) Wheeler, Betty J; Rutelonis, J. Wes; Barry, John D; Green, Jeffrey A; Alexander Jr., E. Calvin
    In the karst regions of Minnesota, groundwater tracing using fluorescent dyes has proven to be an effective method for understanding groundwater flow, travel times and interconnections with surface water (streams, creeks, etc). Dye tracing in Southeast (SE) Minnesota has a long history. The first documented traces were performed by S.P. Kingston, a public safety engineer at the Minnesota Department of Health, in the late 1930s. Kingston used fluorescent dye to discover the source of an outbreak of typhoid fever in Fillmore and Olmsted Counties and published his work in the Journal of the American Water Works Association. Additionally, Ron Spong conducted over 30 traces beginning in the 1970s across several counties in SE Minnesota. Most of the dye tracing in Minnesota since that time has been a collaborative effort between the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources but stakeholders such as towns and cities, soil and water conservation districts, the local caving community and generations of students have often been involved as well. Dye tracing involves using fluorescent dyes to determine groundwater flow direction and velocity by pouring dye into a sinkhole or sinking stream and observing where it emerges (usually at a spring or multiple springs) after flowing through the karst conduit system. Positive sampling results allow scientists to infer approximate groundwater flowpaths, calculate minimum velocities, and begin to delineate springsheds. In general, springsheds are composed of Groundwater Springsheds (GwS), Surface Water Springsheds (SWS) and Regional Groundwater Springsheds (RGS) and understanding their combined extent is important for the protection of trout stream resources and other ecosystems in Minnesota karst areas and elsewhere. Additionally, water protection and management associated with spill response, agriculture, water demands and landscape alteration require effective means for delineating springsheds. Many dye traces and the resulting springshed delineations have been accomplished in SE Minnesota, but the results and reporting have had varying degrees of accessibility. The goal of the current project is to produce a web accessible database containing as many groundwater dye tracing results as possible. This effort involves mining trace reports, data tables, and field notes and organizing their contents using GIS. The DNR Dye Trace Reports webpage currently has a list of links to historic and recent dye trace reports that are catalogued and made publicly available on the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy. Geospatial data (dye input points, inferred groundwater flowpaths and springshed delineations) are re-evaluated in some cases, quality checked, and then digitized. Eventually this data will be made available via the DNR webpage in the form of an accessible ArcGIS Online map interface where users can query, select and view the data and associated reports with the click of a button. This database is intended to be used in conjunction with the Minnesota Karst Features Database (Gao, Yongli. (2002) “Karst Feature Distribution in Southeastern Minnesota: Extending GIS-Based Database for Spatial Analysis and Resource Management.”. PhD Thesis, Univ. of Minn., Geology & Geophysics Dept., 210 p.) and will likely be incorporated into an enterprise system of spatially related databases built upon the Karst Feature Database and the Minnesota Spring Inventory. The Minnesota Dye Trace Database is an important element to manage and protect groundwater in Minnesota. Revitalizing dye tracing data, making the documentation available, and creating a user friendly interface will add context to the knowledge and expansive inventory of karst in Minnesota and will hopefully allow this significant dataset to live in perpetuity for generations of scientists and policy makers to come.
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    OFR12-01, Geologic Atlas User's Guide: Using Geologic Maps and Databases for Resource Management and Planning
    (Minnesota Geological Survey, 2019) Setterholm, Dale, R.
    A geologic atlas is intended to describe the geologic framework of our home and how the subsurface environment provides the resources we need. It describes the materials and features that begin just beneath the soil and it continues down to the bedrock surface and beyond. This User’s Guide is intended for people that don’t have training in geology or hydrology- most people. Every Minnesotan uses water, and every Minnesotan has an effect on water, so we all have a role and a stake in how that resource is distributed, how it is used, and how we affect its quality and availability. The purpose of the Guide is to explain in simple terms where our water comes from, how geology and climate control its distribution, and how we can manage water to maximize the availability of high quality water for ourselves and the habitat we live in. The atlases can provide very practical information such as what aquifers are available to a homeowner that needs to drill a well. The atlases also work at larger scales answering questions such as “where is the largest or most productive aquifer in this county”, or conversely, “where is the best place in this county to isolate potential contaminants from our water system?”. The atlases document existing hydrologic conditions, such as water levels in aquifers, so that we can recognize and respond to changes in those levels if necessary.
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    Upgrade of the Gravity Database
    (2011) Chandler, V.W.; Lively, R.S.
    The principal fact gravity database in Minnesota is comprised of over 59,000 measurements collected since 1950. It contains point location data, elevations, free-air and Bouguer anomaly values, field information and base U.S.G.S. quadrangle locations. Over the years gravity data in Minnesota has proven to be a useful resource for the Minnesota Geological Survey (MGS) in its mission of bedrock mapping, and it has provided mineral exploration companies with a significant supplement to exploration programs in Minnesota. Because much of the Precambrian bedrock in Minnesota lies beneath thick glacial deposits, gravity measurements, which are sensitive to density variations, are particularly helpful at inferring structures and rock types deep in the subsurface. The state-wide gravity data is most commonly used in conjunction with the high- resolution aeromagnetic data from Minnesota, which is highly sensitive to magnetic variations in the underlying Precambrian rocks.In 2003, the MGS released a state-wide gravity database with 57890 stations (gravity meter readings). This is an update to that database.