When the XBeach model is used to simulate beach profiles, the selection of four sensitive parameters—facua, gammax, eps, and gamma—is crucial. Among these, the two key parameters, facua and gamma, are particularly sensitive. However, the XBeach model does not specify the exact choice of these four key parameters, offering only a broad range for each one. In this paper, we investigate the applicability of tuning these four parameters within the XBeach model. We employ Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) to optimize the model settings. The Brier Skill Score (<i>BSS</i>) for each parameter combination is calculated to quantify the likelihood probability distribution of each parameter. The optimal parameter set (facua = 0.20, gamma = 0.50) was ultimately determined. Here, the facua parameter represents the degree of influence of wave skewness and asymmetry on the direction of sediment transport, while the gamma parameter represents the equivalent random wave in the wave dissipation model and is used to calculate the probability of wave breaking. Six profiles of the southern beach on Chudao Island are selected to validate the results, establishing the XBeach model based on profile measurement data before and after Typhoon “Lekima”. The results indicate that after parameter optimization, the simulation accuracy of XBeach is significantly improved, with the <i>BSS</i> increasing from 0.3 and 0.17 to 0.68 and 0.79 in P1 and P6 profiles, respectively. This paper provides a recommended range for parameter values for future research.
Hiroki Senshu, Takahide Mizuno, Toru Nakura
et al.
Abstract The spacecraft for the Japanese Martian Moon eXploration mission is equipped with a LIDAR laser altimeter. The slant range continuously measured by the LIDAR is used for the correction of the local topography and the orbit and attitude of the spacecraft. The channel and gain setting of the LIDAR in the proximity phase will be automatically controlled based on the received energy. This paper reports the result of ground-based calibration tests. The calibration function is obtained for each channel and gain settings. Then, the performance test of the auto gain control function is carried out by changing the received energy gradually. This test demonstrates that the automatic gain control system of the LIDAR works well and the obtained slant range and received energy change smoothly.
Aleksandra Kułakowska, Monika Kuc, Bartłomiej Lepczyński
et al.
The purpose of this essay is to examine how dialysis treatment affects patients' quality of life at the Department of Nephrology. The course of chronic renal disease and its management greatly influence the standard of living for dialysis patients. Renal insufficiency consequently results in numerous restrictions on patients' social, intellectual, and physical activities. Patients with chronic kidney disease have longer lifespans thanks to renal replacement therapy.
Konrad Warchoł, Adam Jasiura , Kamila Giżewska
et al.
Monkeypox is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus with a presentation similar to smallpox. Being previously endemic to Africa, now the disease is spreading across the world, causing fear of a potential next pandemic. Smallpox vaccine, previously providing cross-immunity to monkeypox virus, due to cessation of vaccinations, caused the decline in immunity against these viruses. Defined ways of transmission are animal-to-human through consumption or attack by an affected animal, human-to-human through close contact, or via respiratory droplets. Currently, there are no specific antiviral drugs and vaccine specific to monkeypox, and for symptomatic care, there are no determined guidelines.
Manuela Piccardo, Francesca Provenza, Eleonora Grazioli
et al.
This study evaluates the impacts of 16 different leachates of plastic-made packaging on marine species of different trophic levels (bacteria, algae, echinoderms). Standard ecotoxicological endpoints (inhibition of bioluminescence, inhibition of growth, embryo-toxicity) and alterations of ecologically significant parameters (i.e., echinoderms’ body-size) were measured following exposure under different pH water conditions: marine standard (pH 8.1) and two increasingly acidic conditions (pH 7.8 and 7.5) in order to evaluate possible variations induced by ocean acidification. The results obtained in this study evidence that the tested doses are not able to significantly affect bacteria (<i>Vibrio fischeri)</i> and algae (<i>Phaeodactylum tricornutum</i>). On the contrary, <i>Paracentrotus lividus</i> larvae were significantly affected by several packaging types (13 out of 16) with meaningless differences between pH conditions.
In modern Russia, the FinTech is relevant to the development of the financial segment of the economy. The Government evaluates the prospects of development of artificial intelligence technology, blockchain, big data in the area of budget, tax, customs and other relations by now. However, the development of the FinTech in Russia faces many problems. First of all, these is the absence of digital infrastructure for mining cryptocurrency, issues related to information security, the potential risks of illegal non-personalized transactions through the blockchain technology. It is necessary to analyze the content of the discovered institutional problems and to determine the ways to resolve them. The significant role in overcoming the difficulties is assigned to the Federal Law “About the Digital Financial Assets”, which shall enter into force on the 1st of January 2021. Besides the foreign experience in overcoming the difficulties related to the utilization of FinTech is particularly valuable for Russia to solve the identified issues effectively.
It is proposed to use the geographical potentialities of the Peonies lagoon scenario as a natural museum for the teaching of Physical Geography. The methodology is descriptive, projective, under a field design, not experimental. When diagnosing the «didactic resources», more than 80% of the respondents affirmed that the teacher does not use «directed and natural resources» in teaching. Regarding the «level of knowledge», there is weakness in the domain of the same, more than 75% of students did not succeed in the indicators «presence of lagoons», «presence of beaches and coastal dunes» and «sedimentation processes» of the Peonies lagoon. A proposal for a natural museum was designed based on the scenario of the referred lagoon, materialized in a guided tour that includes five (5) stations.
B. P. Guillod, B. P. Guillod, B. P. Guillod
et al.
Hydro-meteorological extremes such as drought and heavy precipitation can
have large impacts on society and the economy. With potentially increasing
risks associated with such events due to climate change, properly assessing
the associated impacts and uncertainties is critical for adequate adaptation.
However, the application of risk-based approaches often requires large sets
of extreme events, which are not commonly available. Here, we present such a
large set of hydro-meteorological time series for recent past and future
conditions for the United Kingdom based on weather@home 2, a modelling
framework consisting of a global climate model (GCM) driven by observed or
projected sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice which is downscaled to
25 km over the European domain by a regional climate model (RCM). Sets of
100 time series are generated for each of (i) a historical baseline
(1900–2006), (ii) five near-future scenarios (2020–2049) and
(iii) five far-future scenarios
(2070–2099). The five scenarios in each future time slice all follow the
Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) and sample the range of sea
surface temperature and sea ice changes from CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5) models. Validation of the
historical baseline highlights good performance for temperature and potential
evaporation, but substantial seasonal biases in mean precipitation, which are
corrected using a linear approach. For extremes in low precipitation over a
long accumulation period ( > 3 months) and shorter-duration high
precipitation (1–30 days), the time series generally represents past
statistics well. Future projections show small precipitation increases in
winter but large decreases in summer on average, leading to an overall
drying, consistently with the most recent UK Climate Projections (UKCP09) but
larger in magnitude than the latter. Both drought and high-precipitation
events are projected to increase in frequency and intensity in most regions,
highlighting the need for appropriate adaptation measures. Overall, the
presented dataset is a useful tool for assessing the risk associated with
drought and more generally with hydro-meteorological extremes in the UK.
Overuse of surface water and an increasing reliance on nonrenewable groundwater resources have been reported over various regions of the world, casting significant doubt on the sustainable water supply and food production met by irrigation. To assess the limitations of global water resources, numerous indicators have been developed, but they rarely consider nonrenewable water use. In addition, surface water over-abstraction is rarely assessed in the context of human and environmental water needs. Here, we perform a transient assessment of global water use over the historical period 1960–2010 as well as the future projections of 2011–2099, using a newly developed indicator: the blue water sustainability index (BlWSI). The BlWSI incorporates both nonrenewable groundwater use and nonsustainable water use that compromises environmental flow requirements. Our results reveal an increasing trend of water consumed from nonsustainable surface water and groundwater resources over the historical period (∼30%), and this increase is projected to continue further towards the end of this century (∼40%). The global amount of nonsustainable water consumption has been increasing especially since the late 1990s, despite a wetter climate and increasing water availability during this period. The BlWSI is the first tool suitable for consistently evaluating the renewability and degradation of surface water and groundwater resources as a result of human water over-abstraction.
In this article we propose to describe the ambiance in one of the oldest cosmopolitan neighbourhoods of Paris, La Goutte d’Or. We will analyse the currents driving public life, which has clung to this space despite “urban renewal” policies spanning 30 years. The neighbourhood operates as a centrality, a hub of networks for immigrant communities, and the street here has been turned into an arena for social interaction and informal business activities. It is both a source of cultural inspiration and rejuvenation, and a popular “cosmo-political” scene, a multi-faceted world subjected to constant tension. We study the spontaneous gatherings prompted day after day by the spectacle of the street, the dynamics of communication and concern stirred up by public life. We see that this ambiance is a many-sided forge, the focus of much attention, dispersing opinions, redefining thresholds, a forge crystallizing a variety of publics mutually concerned by what they can or cannot share.
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation, Social Sciences
Rafael Alves de Aguiar, Jardel Schlickmann, Tiago Turnes
et al.
O presente estudo comparou o tempo mantido acima de 90% (t90VO2max) e de 95% VO2max (t95VO2max) em três diferentes intensidades de exercício. Após a realização de um teste incremental para determinar o VO2max, oito estudantes de educação física ativos (23 ± 3 anos) executaram três sessões de exercícios intermitentes (100, 110 e 120% da velocidade do VO2max (vVO2max)) com razão esforço:recuperação de 30s:15s. O t95VO2max foi significantemente maior em 110%vVO2max (EI110%) (218,1 ± 81,6 s) quando comparado a 100%vVO2max (EI100%) (91,9 ± 75,2s) e a 120%vVO2max (EI120%) (126,3 ± 29,4 s), porém sem diferença entre EI100% e EI120%. O t90VO2max somente apresentou diferença significante entre EI110% e EI120%. Portanto, conclui-se que durante exercício intermitente com razão 30s:15s, a intensidade de 110%vVO2max apresenta-se mais adequada para manter o VO2 próximo ou no VO2max por um tempo maior.<br>The present study compared the time maintained above 90% (t90VO2max) or 95% VO2max (t95VO2max) in three different exercise intensities. After performing an incremental test to determine VO2max, eight physical education active students (23 ± 3 years) performed three intermittent exercise sessions (100, 110 e 120% velocity of VO2max (vVO2max)) with ratio effort:recovery of 30s:15s. The t95%VO2max was significantly higher at 110%vVO2max (EI110%) (218.1 ± 81.6s) compared to 100% vVO2max (EI100%) (91.9 ± 75.2s) and 120%vVO2max (EI120%) (126.3 ± 29.4s), but without differences between EI100% and EI120%. The t90%vVO2max was significantly different only between EI110% and 120%. Therefore, we conclude that during intermittent exercise with ratio 30s:15s, the intensity of 110%vVO2max appears more appropriate to maintain VO2max for a longer time.
Tornado occurs very rarely in the territory of Serbia. The occurrence of a
tornado above Torda (Vojvodina, Serbia) on 31 March 2013 indicted the
importance of monitoring such a dangerous weather phenomenon, knowing its
characteristics and forecasting it. This paper analyzes the synoptic
conditions and vertical structure of the atmosphere that prevailed during the
development of a supercell with a tornado. Changes in temperature and air
pressure are presented on mesoscale maps. The analysis was performed by using
the Nonhydrostatic Mesoscale Model (NMM). The tornado occurrence was
monitored via satellite images and radar characteristics of a supercell. The
cause of tornadogenesis has been ascertained. According to the EF scale, the
tornado reached F0 intensity. Damages to roofs, power lines, trees and cars
caused by the wind (>35ms-1) are also presented.