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Trabecular bone, a solid that has a heterogeneous porous structure, demonstrates nonlinear stress–strain relationship, even within the small strain region, when subject to stresses. It also exhibits different responses when subject to tension and compression. This study presents the development of an implicit constitutive relation between the stress and the linearized strain specifically tailored for trabecular bone-like materials. The structure of the constitutive relation requires the solution of the balance of linear momentum and the constitutive relations simultaneously, and in view of this, a two-field mixed finite element model capable of solving general boundary value problems governed by a system of coupled equations is proposed. We investigate the effects of nonlinearity and heterogeneity in a dogbone-shaped sample. Our study is able to capture the significant nonlinear characteristics of the response of the trabecular bone undergoing small strains in experiments, in both tension and compression, very well. 

Abstract The role of upper‐plate faulting in the seismic cycle of large megathrust earthquakes remains poorly understood. We use quasi‐dynamic numerical simulations of seismic cycles to analyze the interaction between crustal faulting and the foreshock sequence of the 2014 Iquique (Mw 8.2) earthquake in Northern Chile. Multi‐cycle models incorporating upper‐plate faulting align better with coseismic displacements, replicating events akin to the Iquique earthquake. Upper‐plate faulting significantly influences foreshock seismicity and deformation patterns. By calibrating the average hydraulic state—varying the effective normal stress—along the megathrust with pre‐earthquake seismicity, we find that lower pore pressure ratios result in more seismicity before the mainshock. This implies that the hydraulic state of the megathrust is critical for foreshock activity. This comprehensive modeling approach underscores the importance of the mechanical interplay between the megathrust and upper‐plate faults in precursory sequences of large subduction zone earthquakes. 

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman microspectroscopy are methods applied in microplastics research to determine the chemical identity of microplastics. These techniques enable quantification of microplastic particles across various matrices. Previous work has highlighted the benefits and limitations of each method and found these to be complimentary. Within this work, metadata collected within an interlaboratory method validation study was used to determine which variables most influenced successful chemical identification of un-weathered microplastics in simulated drinking water samples using FTIR and Raman microspectroscopy. No variables tested had a strong correlation with the accuracy of chemical identification (r = ≤0.63). The variables most correlated with accuracy differed between the two methods, and include both physical characteristics of particles (color, morphology, size, polymer type), and instrumental parameters (spectral collection mode, spectral range). Based on these results, we provide technical recommendations to improve capabilities of both methods for measuring microplastics in drinking water and highlight priorities for further research. For FTIR microspectroscopy, recommendations include considering the type of particle in question to inform sample presentation and spectral collection mode for sample analysis. Instrumental parameters should be adjusted for certain particle types when using Raman microspectroscopy. For both instruments, the study highlighted the need for harmonization of spectral reference libraries among research groups, including the use of libraries containing reference materials of both weathered plastic and natural materials that are commonly found in environmental samples. 

Abstract The rapid development of general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is allowing the implementation of highly-parallelized Monte Carlo simulation chains for particle physics experiments. This technique is particularly suitable for the simulation of a pixelated charge readout for time projection chambers, given the large number of channels that this technology employs. Here we present the first implementation of a full microphysical simulator of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) equipped with light readout and pixelated charge readout, developed for the DUNE Near Detector. The software is implemented with an end-to-end set of GPU-optimized algorithms. The algorithms have been written in Python and translated into CUDA kernels using Numba, a just-in-time compiler for a subset of Python and NumPy instructions. The GPU implementation achieves a speed up of four orders of magnitude compared with the equivalent CPU version. The simulation of the current induced on 10^3 pixels takes around 1 ms on the GPU, compared with approximately 10 s on the CPU. The results of the simulation are compared against data from a pixel-readout LArTPC prototype.