We perform a set of flow and reactive transport simulations within three-dimensional fracture networks to learn the factors controlling mineral reactions. CO$_2$ mineralization requires CO$_2$-laden water, dissolution of a mineral that then leads to precipitation of a CO$_2$-bearing mineral. Our discrete fracture networks (DFN) are partially filled with quartz that gradually dissolves until it reaches a quasi-steady state. At the end of the simulation, we measure the quartz remaining in each fracture within the domain. We observe that a small backbone of fracture exists, where the quartz is fully dissolved which leads to increased flow and transport. However, depending on the DFN topology and the rate of dissolution, we observe a large variability of these changes, which indicates an interplay between the fracture network structure and the impact of geochemical dissolution. In this work, we developed a machine learning framework to extract the important features that support mineralization in the form of dissolution. In addition, we use structural and topological features of the fracture network to predict the remaining quartz volume in quasi-steady state conditions. As a first step to characterizing carbon mineralization, we study dissolution with this framework. We studied a variety of reaction and fracture parameters and their impact on the dissolution of quartz in fracture networks. We found that the dissolution reaction rate constant of quartz and the distance to the flowing backbone in the fracture network are the two most important features that control the amount of quartz left in the system. For the first time, we use a combination of a finite-volume reservoir model and graph-based approach to study reactive transport in a complex fracture network to determine the key features that control dissolution.

Tabatha Plew quit her good-paying construction job in August, pulled her kids out of a Central Valley school they loved and moved seven hours north to this tiny town in Trinity County. Like a lot of rural communities, Weaverville in recent years has seen more people leaving than arriving, but it had a golden commodity Plew couldn't find at home in Fresno County for her three children: open classrooms that promised a desk in front of a teacher. "I packed them up, and I told my husband, 'We love you. See you on the weekends,'" said Plew, who moved into her in-laws' home in Weaverville. "This was the highest-paying job I've ever had, and, you know, the money didn't mean anything when my kids were struggling."

WASHINGTON - Sebastian Smith and Jerome Cartillier Donald Trump wants to be warlike and he wants to avoid war -- and late Thursday, with U.S. bombers poised to unleash explosive fury on Iran, those contradictory impulses came to a head. The surprise revelation that Trump ordered the bombing of Iran in retaliation for downing a U.S. drone, only to pull back at the last minute, encapsulates the paradox at the heart of the White House foreign policy over the past two years. One is caution, believing that endless, repeated wars have been too costly for the United States," said Rob Malley, a former advisor to President Barack Obama who heads the International Crisis Group. "The other instinct is to look like someone strong, who can't be pushed around." Many days, Trump resembles a geopolitical John Wayne, a swaggering global sheriff out to duel with rivals like China and old allies alike. And even if the 45th president famously managed to avoid serving in his generation's big war, Vietnam, he revels in his role as commander-in-chief. He rarely seems happier than when boasting about the billions of dollars spent on "rebuilding" the military or talking lovingly about the latest, deadliest weapon system. But Thursday evening in Washington, with U.S. forces on the verge of striking three sites in Iran, that hawkish version of Trump suddenly transformed into Trump the dove. "We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights when I asked, how many will die.

China is currently trialling a national social credit system which ranks citizens on every aspect of their behaviour. And a latest trending video has shown what life is like under Beijing's controversial scheme. The clip filmed on a Chinese high-speed train captures an announcement which warns the passengers not to travel without a ticket or behave disorderly; otherwise, the offender's behaviour will be recorded in'the individual credit information system'. A clip filmed by London-based journalist captures a train announcement in China which urges passengers to behave properly so they wouldn't be punished by the social credit system James O'Malley, a freelance journalist, was taking a high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai Here's a dystopian vision of the future: A real announcement I recorded on the Beijing-Shanghai bullet train. 'To avoid a negative record of personal credit, please follow the relevant regulations and help with the orders on the train and at the station,' a female voice reads in the announcement.

In an era where technology is bringing us closer to driverless cars and robot servants, the majority of Irish people still feel a little uncomfortable at the prospect of a brave new world. New research has found that, while Irish consumers are broadly positive about the improvements innovation brings to life, there are limits. Most feel ill-prepared to give their lives over to a society run by robots, artificial intelligence and algorithms. A report published by Fujitsu, one of the world's largest ICT companies, found that while 42 per cent of people believe technology to be society's main driver of change, fewer than a third are "fully prepared" to meet it. With innovation sweeping virtually every sector, a cultural shift may be required.

As artificial intelligence takes over the more mundane and data-crunching tasks inherent in marketing, experts see creativity and strategic vision as two areas where human expertise will continue to be in-demand regardless of how prevalent the technology becomes. Early adopters can benefit from deep AI-driven insights, but, at some point, the tech is likely to offer less of a competitive advantage as it saturates the market. Marketers worried about being replaced by a machine can get ahead right now by figuring out how their current job function integrates with AI. Looking toward the future, it will be important for marketers to build their personal expertise in the skills that AI technology will not be able to replicate as easily. "AI is fantastic at certain things, especially forecasting, automation, segmentation and optimization," Michael Godwin, creative director at artificial intelligence startup Noodle.ai,

Almost exactly a year ago, in April 2010, professional motocross rider Randy Childers sustained serious injuries after a crash in the last race of the day at Cowboy Badlands in West Beaumont, Texas. He suffered broken ribs and a fractured wrist, but most seriously a crushed vertebra in his neck (C3) that required him to be airlifted to Houston, where surgeons inserted an artificial vertebra and fused two others together (C4 and C5) during a marathon operation that lasted 12 hours. Today, the 24-year-old is the star in a single-patient trial of Rice University's RiceWrist robot, a wearable exoskeleton that mimics the joints from his shoulder to his hand. After months of traditional physical therapy, Childers had recovered enough by October to walk (albeit slowly) into the basement lab at Rice and begin to use the RiceWrist, which is built to reconnect motor pathways in the brain through repetitive movement. After just two weeks, Rice Professor Marcia O'Malley says, Childers was doing most of the work himself.

The teenage woman whose allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of several police officers rocked the Bay Area law enforcement community will return to California to testify against them, her attorney said Wednesday. Jasmine Abuslin, 19, of Richmond, was freed from the Martin County Jail in Florida on Wednesday morning after accepting a plea deal to settle allegations that she bit a security guard during a violent clash at a drug rehabilitation facility last month. Pamela Price, an Oakland civil rights attorney who is representing Abuslin, said Abuslin now plans to return home where she will serve as the key witness in the prosecution of at least seven current and former East Bay law enforcement officers. "We're going home as soon as we can," Price said at a news conference in Stuart, Fla. Abuslin, who has previously used the pseudonym Celeste Guap, claimed during a television news interview earlier this year that she had sex with at least a dozen Oakland police officers, and that some of the encounters occurred while she was underage. She also accused officers of leaking information to her about planned prostitution raids in exchange for sex.

Professor Damith Herath will speak about artificial intelligence and robotics at King O'Malley's Pub on May 25 as part of Canberra's first Pint of Science series. Canberra will raise a glass to a fresh take on politics in the pub this week as the Pint of Science festival debuts in the capital. The national series, funded by the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science and the ACT government, brings some of the most brilliant scientists into city pubs to discuss their latest research and field questions about their findings. The action will begin on Monday at King O'Malley's in Civic. For just 5 punters can delve into how we learn and the power of the brain at Beautiful Mind from 7pm. At the same time on Tuesday evening ANU professor of physics Daniel Shaddock and ANU vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt will explain how we listen to and measure things in space at Ever Expanding Gravitational Pull.

Canberra will raise a glass to a fresh take on politics in the pub this week as the Pint of Science festival debuts in the capital. The national series, funded by the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science and the ACT government, brings some of the most brilliant scientists into city pubs to discuss their latest research and field questions about their findings. The action will begin on Monday at King O'Malley's in Civic. For just 5 punters can delve into how we learn and the power of the brain at Beautiful Mind from 7pm. At the same time on Tuesday evening ANU professor of physics Daniel Shaddock and ANU vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt will explain how we listen to and measure things in space at Ever Expanding Gravitational Pull. And the finale event, Driven Into Crazy Stupid Love, on Wednesday from 7pm will cover self-driving cars and what the world will be like with increased human-robot interaction.