Journal articles on the topic 'SwCWa'
To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: SwCWa.
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 journal articles for your research on the topic 'SwCWa.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse journal articles on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Xiao, Hui-Hui, Yu-Xin Zhu, Lu Lu, Li-Ping Zhou, Christina Chui-Wa Poon, Chi-On Chan, Li-Jing Wang, et al. "The Lignan-Rich Fraction from Sambucus williamsii Hance Exerts Bone Protective Effects via Altering Circulating Serotonin and Gut Microbiota in Rats." Nutrients 14, no. 22 (November 8, 2022): 4718. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu14224718.
Full textAbstract:
Our previous study revealed that the bone anabolic effects of the lignan-rich fraction (SWCA) from Sambucus williamsii Hance was involved in modulating the metabolism of tryptophan in vivo and inhibiting serotonin (5-HT) synthesis in vitro. This study aimed to determine how SWCA modulates bone metabolism via serotonin in vivo. The effects of SWCA were evaluated by using 4-month-old Sprague-Dawley (SD) ovariectomized rats. The serum levels of 5-HT and kynurenine, the protein expressions of tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH-1) and TPH-2, the genes and proteins related to the 5-HT signaling pathway as well as gut microbiota composition were determined. SWCA treatment alleviated bone loss and decreased serum levels of serotonin, which was negatively related to bone mineral density (BMD) in rats. It suppressed the protein expression of TPH-1 in the colon, and reversed the gene and protein expressions of FOXO1 and ATF4 in the femur in OVX rats, while it did not affect the TPH-2 protein expression in the cortex. SWCA treatment escalated the relative abundance of Antinobacteria and modulated several genera relating to BMD. These findings verified that the bone protective effects of lignans were mediated by serotonin, and provided evidence that lignans might be a good source of TPH-1 inhibitors.
2
Feng, Juan, Jianping Li, and Yun Li. "A Monsoon-Like Southwest Australian Circulation and Its Relation with Rainfall in Southwest Western Australia." Journal of Climate 23, no. 6 (March 15, 2010): 1334–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2009jcli2837.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Using the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis, the 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40), and precipitation data from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP) and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the variability and circulation features influencing southwest Western Australia (SWWA) winter rainfall are investigated. It is found that the climate of southwest Australia bears a strong seasonality in the annual cycle and exhibits a monsoon-like atmospheric circulation, which is called the southwest Australian circulation (SWAC) because of its several distinct features characterizing a monsoonal circulation: the seasonal reversal of winds, alternate wet and dry seasons, and an evident land–sea thermal contrast. The seasonal march of the SWAC in extended winter (May–October) is demonstrated by pentad data. An index based on the dynamics’ normalized seasonality was introduced to describe the behavior and variation of the winter SWAC. It is found that the winter rainfall over SWWA has a significant positive correlation with the SWAC index in both early (May–July) and late (August–October) winter. In weaker winter SWAC years, there is an anticyclonic anomaly over the southern Indian Ocean resulting in weaker westerlies and northerlies, which are not favorable for more rainfall over SWWA, and the opposite combination is true in the stronger winter SWAC years. The SWAC explains not only a large portion of the interannual variability of SWWA rainfall in both early and late winter but also the long-term drying trend over SWWA in early winter. The well-coupled SWAC–SWWA rainfall relationship seems to be largely independent of the well-known effects of large-scale atmospheric circulations such as the southern annular mode (SAM), El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Ocean dipole (IOD), and ENSO Modoki (EM). The result offers qualified support for the argument that the monsoon-like circulation may contribute to the rainfall decline in early winter over SWWA. The external forcing of the SWAC is also explored in this study.
3
Cai, Shaowei, and Kaile Su. "Configuration Checking with Aspiration in Local Search for SAT." Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence 26, no. 1 (September 20, 2021): 434–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1609/aaai.v26i1.8133.
Full textAbstract:
An interesting strategy called configuration checking (CC) was recently proposed to handle the cycling problem in local search for Minimum Vertex Cover. A natural question is whether this CC strategy also works for SAT. The direct application of CC did not result in stochastic local search (SLS) algorithms that can compete with the current best SLS algorithms for SAT. In this paper, we propose a new heuristic based on CC for SLS algorithms for SAT, which is called configuration checking with aspiration (CCA). It is used to develop a new SLS algorithm called Swcca. The experiments on random 3-SAT instances show that Swcca significantly outperforms Sparrow2011, the winner of the random satisfiable category of the SAT Competition 2011, which is considered to be the best local search solver for random 3-SAT instances. Moreover, the experiments on structured instances show that Swcca is competitive with Sattime, the best local search solver for the crafted benchmark in the SAT Competition 2011.
4
Zheng, Yaowen, Lenneke M. Jong, Steven J. Phipps, Jason L. Roberts, Andrew D. Moy, Mark A. J. Curran, and Tas D. van Ommen. "Extending and understanding the South West Western Australian rainfall record using a snowfall reconstruction from Law Dome, East Antarctica." Climate of the Past 17, no. 5 (October 1, 2021): 1973–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1973-2021.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. South West Western Australia (SWWA) has experienced a prolonged reduction in rainfall in recent decades, with associated reductions in regional water supply and residential and agricultural impacts. The cause of the reduction has been widely considered but remains unclear. The relatively short length of the instrumental record limits long-term investigation. A previous proxy-based study used a statistically negative correlation between SWWA rainfall and snowfall from the Dome Summit South (DSS) ice core drilling site, Law Dome, East Antarctica, and concluded that the anomaly of recent decades is unprecedented over the ∼ 750-year period of the study (1250–2004 CE). Here, we extend the snow accumulation record to cover the period from 22 BCE to 2015 CE and derive a rainfall reconstruction over this extended period. This extended record confirms that the recent anomaly is unique in the period since 1250 CE and unusual over the full ∼ 2000-year period, with just two other earlier droughts of similar duration and intensity. The reconstruction shows that SWWA rainfall started to decrease around 1971 CE. Ensembles of climate model simulations are used to investigate the potential roles of natural variability and external climate drivers in explaining changes in SWWA rainfall. We find that anthropogenic greenhouse gases are likely to have contributed towards the SWWA rainfall drying trend after 1971 CE. However, natural variability may also have played a role in determining the timing and magnitude of the reduction in rainfall.
5
Jilani, Md Shariful Alam, Tang Thean Hock, Sraboni Mazumder, Fahmida Rahman, Md Mohiuddin, Chowdhury Rafiqul Ahsan, and Jalaluddin Ashraful Haq. "Detection of antibodies to recombinant truncated flagellin and sonicated whole cell antigen of Burkholderia pseudomallei in acute melioidosis and in healthy Bangladeshi individuals." IMC Journal of Medical Science 14, no. 1 (June 9, 2020): 47–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/imcjms.v14i1.47455.
Full textAbstract:
Background and objectives: Several types of Burkholderia pseudomallei antigens have been used to determine the antibody response in acute and asymptomatic cases. In the present study, we have detected immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody to recombinant truncated flagellin antigen (RTFA) of B. pseudomallei in the sera of acute melioidosis cases and healthy individuals from melioidosis endemic areas of Bangladesh by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In parallel, IgG antibody to sonicated whole cell antigen (SWCA) of B. pseudomallei was determined to compare with anti-RTFA antibody.
Methodology: Serum samples from culture confirmed melioidosis cases and from healthy individuals aged 21 years and above residing in melioidosis endemic rural areas were included in the study. Serum IgG antibody to RTFA and SWCA of B. pseudomallei was determined by indirect ELISA.
Results: Out of 8 culture confirmed acute melioidosis cases, 7 (87.5%) and 8 (100%) were positive for anti-B. pseudomallei IgG antibodies by RTFA and SWCA methods respectively. Among 361 healthy individuals, the rate of seropositivity by RTFA-ELISA was significantly less than that of SWCA-ELISA (16.1% versus 26.8%; p = 0.001). The mean optical density (OD) of RTFA-ELISA of positive cases was significantly less than that of SWCA-ELISA in both melioidosis and healthy individuals (0.79±0.11 versus 2.4±0.08, p = 0.0001; 0.67±0.01 versus 1.27±0.02, p = 0.0001). The sensitivity and specificity of RTFA-ELISA were 88.9% and 100% respectively.
Conclusion: Findings of the study suggest that multiple or combination of antigens should be used to study the seroprevalence of B. pseudomallei infection in a community. Also, prospective study is necessary to find out the duration of persistence of antibodies to different antigenic components of B. pseudomallei after exposure.
Ibrahim Med. Coll. J. 2020; 14(1): 47-52
6
England, Matthew H., Caroline C. Ummenhofer, and Agus Santoso. "Interannual Rainfall Extremes over Southwest Western Australia Linked to Indian Ocean Climate Variability." Journal of Climate 19, no. 10 (May 15, 2006): 1948–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli3700.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Interannual rainfall extremes over southwest Western Australia (SWWA) are examined using observations, reanalysis data, and a long-term natural integration of the global coupled climate system. The authors reveal a characteristic dipole pattern of Indian Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies during extreme rainfall years, remarkably consistent between the reanalysis fields and the coupled climate model but different from most previous definitions of SST dipoles in the region. In particular, the dipole exhibits peak amplitudes in the eastern Indian Ocean adjacent to the west coast of Australia. During dry years, anomalously cool waters appear in the tropical/subtropical eastern Indian Ocean, adjacent to a region of unusually warm water in the subtropics off SWWA. This dipole of anomalous SST seesaws in sign between dry and wet years and appears to occur in phase with a large-scale reorganization of winds over the tropical/subtropical Indian Ocean. The wind field alters SST via anomalous Ekman transport in the tropical Indian Ocean and via anomalous air–sea heat fluxes in the subtropics. The winds also change the large-scale advection of moisture onto the SWWA coast. At the basin scale, the anomalous wind field can be interpreted as an acceleration (deceleration) of the Indian Ocean climatological mean anticyclone during dry (wet) years. In addition, dry (wet) years see a strengthening (weakening) and coinciding southward (northward) shift of the subpolar westerlies, which results in a similar southward (northward) shift of the rain-bearing fronts associated with the subpolar front. A link is also noted between extreme rainfall years and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Namely, in some years the IOD acts to reinforce the eastern tropical pole of SST described above, and to strengthen wind anomalies along the northern flank of the Indian Ocean anticyclone. In this manner, both tropical and extratropical processes in the Indian Ocean generate SST and wind anomalies off SWWA, which lead to moisture transport and rainfall extremes in the region. An analysis of the seasonal evolution of the climate extremes reveals a progressive amplification of anomalies in SST and atmospheric circulation toward a wintertime maximum, coinciding with the season of highest SWWA rainfall. The anomalies in SST can appear as early as the summertime months, however, which may have important implications for predictability of SWWA rainfall extremes.
7
Li, Yun, Jianping Li, and Juan Feng. "A Teleconnection between the Reduction of Rainfall in Southwest Western Australia and North China." Journal of Climate 25, no. 24 (December 15, 2012): 8444–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-11-00613.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Rainfall in both southwest Western Australia (SWWA) and North China (NC) has been declining substantially since the mid-1960s, which has led to a series of droughts in both regions since then. Using observed rainfall datasets in China and Australia and the NCEP reanalysis dataset during 1951–2008, it is found that the decline of SWWA rainfall occurs in early austral winter [May–July (MJJ)] while the reduction of NC rainfall is in late boreal summer [July–September (JAS)]. The relationship between SWWA MJJ rainfall and NC JAS rainfall during 1951–2008 is then examined, and it is found that a significant link exists between these two rainfall series with a correlation of 0.43 and this link remains after the data are detrended. In particular, this relationship accounts for up to 62% variance on interdecadal time scales, and seems to be driven by the poleward shift of the southern subtropical high ridge (SSHR) and the northern subtropical high ridge (NSHR) over longitudes 110°–150°E. The poleward shift of the SSHR may induce an anomalous anticyclone centered near the south Australian coast, resulting in anomalous easterlies of dry air to SWWA, while the poleward shift of the NSHR is associated with an anomalous anticyclone in East Asia near NC causing anomalous northeasterlies of dry air to NC. The poleward shift of SSHR/NSHR may be linked to the warming sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropical Indian-western Pacific. The results herein suggest that the poleward shifts of the SSHR and the NSHR instigated by the warming SSTs in the tropical Indian–western Pacific may have partially contributed to the rainfall reduction in both regions.
8
Feng, Juan, Jianping Li, and Yun Li. "Is There a Relationship between the SAM and Southwest Western Australian Winter Rainfall?" Journal of Climate 23, no. 22 (November 15, 2010): 6082–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2010jcli3667.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Previous studies have raised the possibility that the recent decline in winter rainfall over southwest Western Australia (SWWA) is related to the concurrent upward trend in the southern annular mode (SAM). On the basis of an analysis of 60-yr (1948–2007) reanalysis and observed data, the authors suggest that the apparent inverse relationship between the SAM and SWWA winter rainfall (SWR) is caused by a single extreme year—1964. It is shown that both the negative and positive phases of the SAM have little impact on SWR in the case that data for 1964 are excluded from the analysis. In addition, for periods prior to and after 1964 in the case that data for 1964 are excluded, the apparent relationship between the SAM and SWR becomes insignificant, and the circulation anomalies with respect to SWR appear to be an SAM-like pattern for which the anomalies at high latitudes are not significant. The result indicates that the SAM does not significantly influence the winter rainfall over SWWA. Instead, the variation of SWR would be more closely linked to the variability in regional circulations.
9
Philip, P., and B. Yu. "Temporal Variations in Rainfall Volume in the Southwest of Western Australia." Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 60, no. 1 (January 2021): 23–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jamc-d-20-0034.1.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractRainfall in the southwest of Western Australia (SWWA) has decreased significantly over recent decades. Previous studies documented this decrease in terms of the change in rainfall depth or decrease in the frequency of rainfall events for selected sites. Although rainfall volume is of vital importance to determine water resources availability for a given region, no study has yet been undertaken to examine the change in rainfall volume in SWWA. The aim of this study is to examine the spatiotemporal changes in rainfall volume and to attribute this change to the changes in wet area and rainfall depth. Gridded daily rainfall data at 0.05° resolution for the period from 1911 to 2018 were used for an area of 265 952 km2 in SWWA. For the whole region and most zones, rainfall volume decreased, which was mostly due to a decrease in the wet area, despite an increase in the mean rain depth. In the regions near the coast with mean annual rainfall ≥ 600 mm, 84% of the decrease in rainfall volume could be attributed to a decrease in the wet area, whereas the decrease in rainfall depth only played a minor role. The regions near the coast with a higher number of rain days showed a decreasing trend in wet area, and the regions farther inland with a lower number of rain days showed an increasing trend in wet area. On the coast, the rate of decrease in rainfall has been reduced, and heavy rainfall, in fact, has increased over the past 30 years, although there was no concurrent change in the southern annular mode (SAM). This suggests that the relationship between SAM and rainfall could have changed and that other climate drivers could also be responsible for the recent rainfall trend and variations in the coastal regions of SWWA.
10
Frederiksen, Jorgen S., and Stacey L. Osbrough. "Tipping Points and Changes in Australian Climate and Extremes." Climate 10, no. 5 (May 19, 2022): 73. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cli10050073.
Full textAbstract:
Systematic changes, since the beginning of the 20th century, in average and extreme Australian rainfall and temperatures indicate that Southern Australian climate has undergone regime transitions into a drier and warmer state. South-west Western Australia (SWWA) experienced the most dramatic drying trend with average streamflow into Perth dams, in the last decade, just 20% of that before the 1960s and extreme, decile 10, rainfall reduced to near zero. In south-eastern Australia (SEA) systematic decreases in average and extreme cool season rainfall became evident in the late 1990s with a halving of the area experiencing average decile 10 rainfall in the early 21st century compared with that for the 20th century. The shift in annual surface temperatures over SWWA and SEA, and indeed for Australia as a whole, has occurred primarily over the last 20 years with the percentage area experiencing extreme maximum temperatures in decile 10 increasing to an average of more than 45% since the start of the 21st century compared with less than 3% for the 20th century mean. Average maximum temperatures have also increased by circa 1 °C for SWWA and SEA over the last 20 years. The climate changes in rainfall an d temperatures are associated with atmospheric circulation shifts.
11
Vaghefi, Parshin, and Bofu Yu. "Validation of CLIGEN Parameter Adjustment Methods for Southeastern Australia and Southwestern Western Australia." Journal of Hydrometeorology 18, no. 7 (July 1, 2017): 2011–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jhm-d-16-0237.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Global climate models (GCMs) are usually used for future climate projections. Model output from GCMs needs to be downscaled and stochastic weather generators such as Climate Generator (CLIGEN) are tools to downscale GCM output and to produce synthetic weather sequences that are statistically similar to the observed weather data. Two methods of adjusting CLIGEN parameters were developed to reproduce precipitation sequences for southeastern Australia (SEA), where significant changes in annual precipitation had occurred, and for southwestern Western Australia (SWWA), where the precipitation has shown a significant decreasing trend since the 1920s. The adjustment methods have been validated using observed precipitation data for these regions. However, CLIGEN outputs ultimately will be used as input to other simulation models. The objective of this research was to further validate the methods of CLIGEN parameter adjustment using conceptual hydrological models to simulate streamflow and to compare the streamflow using observed and CLIGEN-generated precipitation data. Six precipitation sites from SEA and SWWA were selected and synthetic time series of daily precipitation were generated for these sites. Conceptual hydrological models, namely, the Australian Water Balance Model and SimHyd, were used for flow simulation and were calibrated using recorded daily streamflow data from six gauging stations in SEA and SWWA. Both monthly and annual streamflow show statistically similar patterns using observed and CLIGEN-generated precipitation data. The adjustment methods for CLIGEN parameters are further validated and can be used to reproduce the significant changes, both abrupt and gradually decreasing, in streamflow for these two climatically contrasting regions of Australia.
12
Li, Y., W. Cai, and E. P. Campbell. "Statistical Modeling of Extreme Rainfall in Southwest Western Australia." Journal of Climate 18, no. 6 (March 15, 2005): 852–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-3296.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Rainfall over southwest Western Australia (SWWA; 32°S southward and 118°E westward) has been decreasing over the past decades, putting further constraints on water resources in an already dry area. In this study, daily rainfall over five geographically dispersed and homogenized weather stations within SWWA are analyzed. A peak over threshold method from the extreme value theory is used to model daily rainfall above a given threshold. The Mann–Whitney–Pittitt (change point) test was applied to detect changes in annual, winter (May–October), and summer (November–April) maximum daily rainfall. Change points for winter extreme daily rainfall were found around 1965, based on different individual stations, with the extreme daily rainfall reduced since then. To demonstrate the degree of change in the winter extreme daily rainfall, at 1965 the data were stratified, and generalized Pareto distributions were fitted to the tails of the distributions for daily rainfall in the prechange period of 1930–65 (including 1965) and the postchange period of 1966–2001. The fitted tail distributions also allow the estimation of probabilities and return periods of the daily rainfall extreme. Results show that return periods for the winter extreme daily rainfall have increased after 1965, implying that winter daily rainfall extremes in SWWA are lower after 1965 than they were before. There has been vigorous debate as to what forces the drying trend, that is, whether it is part of multidecadal variability or whether it is driven by secular forcings, such as increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration. In this paper, statistical modeling is also used to identify possible associated changes in atmospheric circulation. It is found that there is a change point near 1965 in a dominant atmospheric circulation mode of the Antarctic Oscillation (AAO). The result offers qualified support for the argument that the AAO may contribute to the drying trend.
13
Kala, Jatin, Alyce Sala Tenna, Daniel Rudloff, Julia Andrys, Ole Rieke, and Thomas J. Lyons. "Evaluation of the Weather Research and Forecasting model in simulating fire weather for the south-west of Western Australia." International Journal of Wildland Fire 29, no. 9 (2020): 779. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wf19111.
Full textAbstract:
The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used to simulate fire weather for the south-west of Western Australia (SWWA) over multiple decades at a 5-km resolution using lateral boundary conditions from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA)-Interim reanalysis. Simulations were compared with observations at Australian Bureau of Meteorology meteorological stations and the McArthur Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) was used to quantify fire weather. Results showed that, overall, the WRF reproduced the annual cumulative FFDI at most stations reasonably well, with most biases in the FFDI ranging between –600 and 600. Biases were highest at stations within the metropolitan region. The WRF simulated the geographical gradients in the FFDI across the domain well. The source of errors in the FFDI varied markedly between the different stations, with no one particular variable able to account for the errors at all stations. Overall, this study shows that the WRF is a useful model for simulating fire weather for SWWA, one of the most fire-prone regions in Australia.
14
Terzić, Svjetlana, Lorena Jemeršić, M. Lojkić, Lidija Šver, I. Valpotić, Nada Oršolić, Andrea Humski, and Ž. Cvetnić. "Leukocyte subsets and specific antibodies in pigs vaccinated with a classical swine fever subunit (E2) vaccine and the attenuated ORF virus strain D1701." Acta Veterinaria Hungarica 52, no. 2 (April 1, 2004): 151–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1556/avet.52.2004.2.3.
Full textAbstract:
Total white blood cell (WBC) counts and percentages of CD4a+, CD8a+, CD5a+, CD45RA+, CD45RC+, wCD21+ and SWC3a+ cells in the peripheral blood of pigs were analysed in this study. Blood samples were collected before and on days 4, 10, 21 and 28 after vaccination. Group 1 pigs were vaccinated with a subunit E2 vaccine (gp E2 32 µg/dose), and Group 2 received a subunit vaccine combined with an attenuated ORF virus strain D1701 106.45 TCID50/dose. Control pigs received a placebo. The total WBC count and percentage of particular cell types were within the normal range in vaccinated and control pigs. Although the mechanism of attenuated ORF virus activity is not clear, changes were observed in CD4a+, CD5a+, CD8a+, CD45RA+ and CD45RC+cells in pigs that received the combination of a subunit vaccine and ORF virus. However, the percentage of wCD21+ and SWC3a+ did not differ significantly from that recorded in pigs given only the subunit vaccine. At days 4 and 10 the number of pigs positive to E2 antibodies was higher in the group that received the subunit vaccine and ORF virus than in pigs vaccinated with the subunit vaccine only. A higher percentage of memory cells (CD45RC+) as well as Th and Tc lymphocytes in pigs that received the ORF virus and the subunit vaccine could be ascribed to a nonspecific influence of the ORF virus on the development (through cognate interactions between T and B cells) and the duration (presumed according to the finding of the clonal expression of memory cells) of humoral immunity (assessed by a higher number of seropositive pigs in this group). This seems likely since the proportion of these cells was found to be lower in the pigs that received E2 vaccine only.
15
Farmanyan, S., and A. Mickaelian. "Promotion of Science Communication through Regional Office of Astronomy for Development." Communications of the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory 2, no. 1 (2018): 155–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.52526/25792776-2018.2.1-155.
Full textAbstract:
The present study is devoted to the introduction of the outreach activities of IAU South West and Central Asia Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (SWCA ROAD) Significant communications gap between scientists and society is rendered. We show how to gain new enthusiasts of the Universe by science popularization. We point out the positive outcome of the science communication such as the rejection of superstitious beliefs, astrology and numerology. We analyze the basic processes of communication that explain how different publics deal with scientific information and we apply these insights so as to help improve communication practices in the field of science. Special focus is given on the science-society relationship and the usage of the persuasive and effective means like science museums, science exhibitions, science festivals, science busking, science cafes and pubs, public lectures, talks and discussions, scientific journalism and scientific tourism. We have implemented some of these in the frame of SWCA ROAD activities; we share our experience. It is worth mentioning that in most of these initiatives, astronomers have taken the leadership as most of the attractive topics in science communication are astronomy and space sciences, extraterrestrials, astrology, cosmic catastrophes, etc. We suggest science communicators to use entertainments including humor, storytelling and metaphors. Science communication may also be realized by websites and social media platforms. We conclude with future tendencies of science communication and benefits of the scientists and young researchers who are actively involved in science outreach activities.
16
Shedley, Erica, Neil Burrows, Colin J. Yates, and David J. Coates. "Using bioregional variation in fire history and fire response attributes as a basis for managing threatened flora in a fire-prone Mediterranean climate biodiversity hotspot." Australian Journal of Botany 66, no. 2 (2018): 134. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt17176.
Full textAbstract:
Inappropriate fire-regimes brought about by patterns of human settlement and land-use threaten plant diversity in Mediterranean-type climate (MTC) regions. In south-west Western Australia (SWWA), where there are many threatened plant species distributed across a range of human-modified landscapes, there is a need for approaches to identify where the threat is greatest. This requires knowledge of contemporary fire regimes, how they vary across landscapes, and the sensitivity of threatened species to these regimes. Currently, this information is lacking, and this limits strategic fire management. In this study we compiled fire response information for SWWA’s threatened plant species and undertook a bioregional assessment of variation in fire interval over the last 40 years. We determined the fire response traits of 242 (60%) of the region’s 401 extant threatened species. Over half of the 242 species were obligate seeders and will therefore have population dynamics particularly sensitive to fire interval. Our study highlights large differences in fire interval across nine bioregions in SWWA. The differences were greatest for the heavily cleared and fragmented bioregions compared with more continuously vegetated bioregions. We discuss how variations in the frequency of fire life-history traits and fire interval interact to determine the nature and relative level of threat posed by fire in these landscapes. Survival of many populations of threatened flora in this biodiversity hotspot will depend on developing appropriate fire regimes that match the regeneration requirements of each species.
17
Sumardi, Sumardi, Salman Farisi, Christina Nugroho Ekowati, and Rizka Oktavia. "Uji Tantang Bakteri Bacillus Kandidat Probiotik secara Invitro terhadap Bakteri Vibrio harveyi." JURNAL BIOLOGI PAPUA 11, no. 2 (October 31, 2019): 57–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.31957/jbp.799.
Full textAbstract:
This study aims to isolate Bacillus that can fight the growth of Vibrio harveyi . Based on the results of the inter-Bacillus competition test show that Bacillus isolates was able to compete and grow with each other on the SWCA media. The challenge test Bacillus bacterial to against Vibrio harveyi bacteria, that Bacillus did not yet produce anti-bacteria on the second day. In the joint culture test method between Bacillus and Vibrio harveyi that Bacillus were able to inhibit the growth of Vibrio harveyi bacteria on the 4th day.
18
Andrys, Julia, Thomas J. Lyons, and Jatin Kala. "Multidecadal Evaluation of WRF Downscaling Capabilities over Western Australia in Simulating Rainfall and Temperature Extremes." Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 54, no. 2 (February 2015): 370–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jamc-d-14-0212.1.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThe authors evaluate a 30-yr (1981–2010) Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) Model regional climate simulation over the southwest of Western Australia (SWWA), a region with a Mediterranean climate, using ERA-Interim boundary conditions. The analysis assesses the spatial and temporal characteristics of climate extremes, using a selection of climate indices, with an emphasis on metrics that are relevant for forestry and agricultural applications. Two nested domains at 10- and 5-km resolution are examined, with the higher-resolution simulation resolving convection explicitly. Simulation results are compared with a high-resolution, gridded observational dataset that provides daily rainfall, minimum temperatures, and maximum temperatures. Results show that, at both resolutions, the model is able to simulate the daily, seasonal, and annual variation of temperature and precipitation well, including extreme events. The higher-resolution domain displayed significant performance gains in simulating dry-season convective precipitation, rainfall around complex terrain, and the spatial distribution of frost conditions. The high-resolution domain was, however, influenced by grid-edge effects in the southwestern margin, which reduced the ability of the domain to represent frontal rainfall along the coastal region. On the basis of these results, the authors feel confident in using the WRF Model for regional climate simulations for the SWWA, including studies that focus on the spatial and temporal representation of climate extremes. This study provides a baseline climatological description at a high resolution that can be used for impact studies and will also provide a benchmark for climate simulations driven by general circulation models.
19
Ummenhofer, Caroline C., Alexander Sen Gupta, Michael J. Pook, and Matthew H. England. "Anomalous Rainfall over Southwest Western Australia Forced by Indian Ocean Sea Surface Temperatures." Journal of Climate 21, no. 19 (October 1, 2008): 5113–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2008jcli2227.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The potential impact of Indian Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in modulating midlatitude precipitation across southern and western regions of Australia is assessed in a series of atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) simulations. Two sets of AGCM integrations forced with a seasonally evolving characteristic dipole pattern in Indian Ocean SST consistent with observed “dry year” (PDRY) and “wet year” (PWET) signatures are shown to induce precipitation changes across western regions of Australia. Over Western Australia, a significant shift occurs in the winter and annual rainfall frequency with the distribution becoming skewed toward less (more) rainfall for the PDRY (PWET) SST pattern. For southwest Western Australia (SWWA), this shift primarily is due to the large-scale stable precipitation. Convective precipitation actually increases in the PDRY case over SWWA forced by local positive SST anomalies. A mechanism for the large-scale rainfall shifts is proposed, by which the SST anomalies induce a reorganization of the large-scale atmospheric circulation across the Indian Ocean basin. Thickness (1000–500 hPa) anomalies develop in the atmosphere mirroring the sign and position of the underlying SST anomalies. This leads to a weakening (strengthening) of the meridional thickness gradient and the subtropical jet during the austral winter in PDRY (PWET). The subsequent easterly offshore (westerly onshore) anomaly in the thermal wind over southern regions of Australia, along with a decrease (increase) in baroclinicity, results in the lower (higher) levels of large-scale stable precipitation. Variations in the vertical thermal structure of the atmosphere overlying the SST anomalies favor localized increased convective activity in PDRY because of differential temperature lapse rates. In contrast, enhanced widespread ascent of moist air masses associated with frontal movement in PWET accounts for a significant increase in rainfall in that ensemble set.
20
Islam, S. A., M. A. Bari, and A. H. M. F. Anwar. "Hydrologic impact of climate change on Murray Hotham catchment of Western Australia: a projection of rainfall-runoff for future water resources planning." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions 10, no. 10 (October 2, 2013): 12027–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hessd-10-12027-2013.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Reduction of rainfall and runoff in recent years across South West Western Australia (SWWA) has drawn attention about climate change impact on water resources and its availability in this region. In this paper, hydrologic impact of climate change on Murray Hotham catchment in SWWA is investigated using multi-model ensemble approach. The Land Use Change Incorporated Catchment (LUCICAT) model was used for hydrologic modelling. Model calibration was performed using (5 km) grid rainfall data from Australian Water Availability Project (AWAP). Downscaled and bias corrected rainfall data from 11 General Circulation Models (GCMs) for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios A2 and B1 was used in LUCICAT model to derive rainfall and runoff scenarios for 2046–2065 (mid this century) and 2081–2100 (late this century). The results of climate scenarios were compared with observed past (1961–1980) climate. The mean annual rainfall averaged over the catchment during recent time (1981–2000) was reduced by 2.3% with respect to observed past (1961–1980) and resulting runoff reduction was found 14%. Compared to the past, the mean annual rainfall reductions, averaged over 11 ensembles and over the period for the catchment for A2 scenario are 13.6 and 23.6% for mid and late this century respectively while the corresponding runoff reductions are 36 and 74%. For B1 scenario, the rainfall reductions were 11.9 and 11.6% for mid and late this century and corresponding runoff reductions were 31 and 38%. Spatial distribution of rainfall and runoff changes showed that the rate of changes were higher in high rainfall part compared to the low rainfall part. Temporal distribution of rainfall and runoff indicate that high rainfall in the catchment reduced significantly and further reductions are projected resulting significant runoff reductions. A catchment scenario map has been developed through plotting decadal runoff reduction against corresponding rainfall reduction at four gauging stations for observed and projected period. This could be useful for planning future water resources in the catchment. Projection of rainfall and runoff made based on the GCMs varied significantly for the time periods and emission scenarios. Hence, considerable uncertainty involved in this study though ensemble mean was used to explain the findings.
21
Hague, Ben, Karl Braganza, and David Jones. "Effects of heat extremes on wheat yields in Australia." Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science 66, no. 3 (2016): 314. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/es16021.
Full textAbstract:
Many agricultural studies have identified that wheat yield is sensitive to seasonal rainfall and extreme high temperatures. We investigate the impact of extreme heat events, in particular on wheat yields in South-East Australia (SEA) and South-West Western Australia (SWWA).We define a 'heat-day' as a day where the daily maximum temperature exceeds the 1911–2013 90th percentile for the respective calendar month. We find that the number of heat-days has experienced statistically significant increases across most months across much of Australia, particularly in South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania. The trends are especially marked in winter, including in key wheat-growing regions. The temperatures recorded on these hottest days have also shown a statistically significant increase over the last 100 years.We find that, while wheat yields are more strongly correlated with rainfall than with the number of heat-days, there is substantial evidence to suggest that during drought conditions wheat yields are sensitive to the number of heat-days recorded in August and September in SEA and September and October in SWWA. Extreme heat and rainfall have a stronger association with below-average yields than above-average yields.Extreme temperatures and rainfall in these regions are related to major Australian climate drivers which form the basis of seasonal prediction models and are important for natural variability and long-term climate change. Here we assess the degree to which wheat yields in both regions can be related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and Southern Annular Mode (SAM). We find that positive IOD events and El Niño events are both associated with reductions in wheat yields in SEA, but that the co-incidence of these events have no additional wheat yield reductions than would be expected if either a positive IOD or El Niño event occurs. The average annual wheat yield loss associated with El Niño state and/or positive IOD state in SEA is estimated to around sixteen to twenty one per cent.This paper provides insights into the historical relationships between wheat yields, extreme heat and climatic modes of variability in Australia, and discusses the possibilities for changes in wheat yields under a future climate change scenario.
22
Wu, Shyi-Tsong, and Jieh-Ren Chang. "Secure One-Way Hash Function Using Cellular Automata for IoT." Sustainability 15, no. 4 (February 15, 2023): 3552. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su15043552.
Full textAbstract:
In the era of the Internet of Things (IoT), security is a very important issue. Recently, some security studies have been proposed based on the applications of Cellular Automata (CA). These works have the simplicity and high speed computation of CA, and are suitable for the resource-constrained IoT. In this paper, we make use of CA and propose a sliding-window CA (SWCA)-based one-way hash function. The sliding-window captures input data randomly for operation and promotes the chaos of the hash function. The proposed one-way hash function possesses high sensitivity to the input data and the one-way feature. Its performance exhibits good collision resistance along with well cryptographic characteristics. For statistical analysis, the mean changed probability is close to 50%. It can resist differential attack under the NPCR and UACI values, which are at least 99% and 33%, respectively.
23
Asrafali, Shakila Parveen, Thirukumaran Periyasamy, Chaitany Jayprakash Raorane, Ramkumar Vanaraj, Vinit Raj, and Seong-Cheol Kim. "Development of Hybrid Titania/Polybenzoxazine Composite for Enhance Thermomechanical, Flame Retardancy and Dielectric Properties." Sustainability 15, no. 2 (January 14, 2023): 1639. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su15021639.
Full textAbstract:
Polybenzoxazines (Pbzs) are a recently developed class of thermosetting polymeric materials possessing low surface free energy with nonfluorine or nonsilicon content. In the present study, a new type of Pbz-BN/TiO2 composite was fabricated using benzoxazine monomer bis(6-phenyl diazenyl-3-phenoxy-3,4-dihydro-2H-1,3-benzoxazinyl) benzonitrile and inorganic TiO2 fillers by a simple and inexpensive process. The thermal curing method was found to be effective for preparing superhydrophobic surfaces combining low surface energy and surface roughness. The presence of the benzonitrile group in the benzoxazine monomer paves the way for accelerating the curing of the benzoxazine monomer, as shown by the DSC analysis. The as-prepared Pbz/TiO2 surfaces containing 5 wt% of TiO2 generated a superhydrophobic surface exhibiting a static water contact angle (SWCA) of 146°. In addition, the effect of inorganic fillers on the thermal, mechanical and dielectric properties of the Pbz/TiO2 composites was investigated in detail.
24
Islam, S. A., M. A. Bari, and A. H. M. F. Anwar. "Hydrologic impact of climate change on Murray–Hotham catchment of Western Australia: a projection of rainfall–runoff for future water resources planning." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 18, no. 9 (September 12, 2014): 3591–614. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3591-2014.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Reduction of rainfall and runoff in recent years across southwest Western Australia (SWWA) has attracted attention to the climate change impact on water resources and water availability in this region. In this paper, the hydrologic impact of climate change on the Murray–Hotham catchment in SWWA has been investigated using a multi-model ensemble approach through projection of rainfall and runoff for the periods mid (2046–2065) and late (2081–2100) this century. The Land Use Change Incorporated Catchment (LUCICAT) model was used for hydrologic modelling. Model calibration was performed using (5 km) grid rainfall data from the Australian Water Availability Project (AWAP). Downscaled and bias-corrected rainfall data from 11 general circulation models (GCMs) for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios A2 and B1 was used in LUCICAT model to derive rainfall and runoff scenarios for 2046–2065 (mid this century) and 2081–2100 (late this century). The results of the climate scenarios were compared with observed past (1961–1980) climate. The mean annual rainfall averaged over the catchment during recent time (1981–2000) was reduced by 2.3% with respect to the observed past (1961–1980) and the resulting runoff reduction was found to be 14%. Compared to the past, the mean annual rainfall reductions, averaged over 11 ensembles and over the period for the catchment for A2 scenario are 13.6 and 23.6% for mid and late this century respectively while the corresponding runoff reductions are 36 and 74%. For B1 scenario, the rainfall reductions were 11.9 and 11.6% for mid and late this century and the corresponding runoff reductions were 31 and 38%. Spatial distribution of rainfall and runoff changes showed that the rate of changes were higher in high rainfall areas compared to low rainfall areas. Temporal distribution of rainfall and runoff indicate that high rainfall events in the catchment reduced significantly and further reductions are projected, resulting in significant runoff reductions. A catchment scenario map has been developed by plotting decadal runoff reduction against corresponding rainfall reduction at four gauging stations for the observed and projected periods. This could be useful for planning future water resources in the catchment. Projection of rainfall and runoff made based on the GCMs varied significantly for the time periods and emission scenarios. Hence, the considerable uncertainty involved in this study though ensemble mean was used to explain the findings.
25
D’Alessio, Matteo, John Lucio, Ernest Williams, James Warner, Donald Seymour, Jay Jasperse, and Chittaranjan Ray. "Flow Analysis through Collector Well Laterals: A Case Study from Sonoma County Water Agency, California." Water 10, no. 12 (December 13, 2018): 1848. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w10121848.
Full textAbstract:
The Sonoma County Water Agency (SWCA) uses six radial collector wells along the Russian River west of Santa Rosa, to provide water for several municipalities and water districts in north-western California. Three collector wells (1, 2, and 6) are located in the Wohler area, and three collector wells (3, 4, and 5) are located in the Mirabel area. The objective of this paper is to highlight the performance of the three collector wells located in the Mirabel area since their construction. The 2015 investigation showed a lower performance of Collectors 3 and 4 compared to their original performances after construction in 1975, while the performance of Collector 5 was relatively stable since 1982. The potential change in capacity could be due to the increase in encrustation observed during the visual inspection of laterals in all three collector wells. Overall, the three collectors are still within the optimal design parameters (screen entrance velocity < 0.305 m min−1 and axial flow velocity of lateral screens < 1.524 m s−1).
26
Zhang, Xinsheng, Konstantin Alekseev, Kwonil Jung, Anastasia Vlasova, Nagesh Hadya, and Linda J. Saif. "Cytokine Responses in Porcine Respiratory Coronavirus-Infected Pigs Treated with Corticosteroids as a Model for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome." Journal of Virology 82, no. 9 (February 20, 2008): 4420–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jvi.02190-07.
Full textAbstract:
ABSTRACT The effectiveness and potential immunosuppressive effects of anti-inflammatory glucocorticoids in the lungs of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients are undefined. We treated porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV)-infected conventional pigs with the corticosteroid dexamethasone (DEX) as a model for SARS. Innate and Th1 cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and serum were elevated in PRCV-infected pigs compared to controls, but were decreased after DEX treatment in the PRCV-infected, DEX-treated (PRCV/DEX) pigs. Although decreased in BAL, Th2 cytokine levels were higher in serum after DEX treatment. Levels of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 in BAL and serum were decreased in PRCV/DEX pigs early but increased later compared to those in phosphate-buffered saline-treated, PRCV-infected pigs, corresponding to a similar trend for lung lesions. PRCV infection increased T-cell frequencies in BAL, but DEX treatment of PRCV-infected pigs reduced frequencies of T cells; interestingly B and SWC3a+ (monocytes/macrophages/granulocytes) cell frequencies were increased. DEX reduced numbers of PRCV-stimulated Th1 gamma interferon-secreting cells in spleen, tracheobroncheolar lymph nodes, and blood. Our findings suggest that future glucocorticoid treatment of SARS patients should be reconsidered in the context of potential local immunosuppression of immune responses in lung and systemic Th1 cytokine-biased suppression.
27
Saif, Linda, Anastasia Vlasova, Sukumar Kandasamy, Lulu Shao, Abdul Rauf, David Fischer, Kuldeep Chattha, Anand Kumar, and Gireesh Rajashekara. "Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 colonization upregulates innate immunity and partially protects against human rotavirus infection in a neonatal gnotobiotic pig model (INC7P.422)." Journal of Immunology 192, no. 1_Supplement (May 1, 2014): 186.23. http://dx.doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.192.supp.186.23.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract We evaluated how colonization with gram-positive or gram-negative commensal bacteria (alone or combined) modulates virulent human rotavirus (VirHRV) infection and innate immunity in a neonatal gnotobiotic (Gn) pig model. Gn pigs were colonized with Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN), Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) or both (EcN+LGG) and challenged with VirHRV 15 days later. Non-colonized VirHRV challenged pigs served as controls. Colonization with each bacteria alone or combined, decreased VirHRV shedding and diarrhea scores post-challenge. Among the colonized pigs, those were lowest in the EcN-, intermediate in EcN+LGG- and highest in the LGG-colonized pigs. EcN colonization induced the highest plasmacytoid dendritic cell (DC) frequencies (EcN or EcN+LGG, all tissues), significantly increased natural killer (NK) cell activity (EcN, spleen and blood) and decreased frequencies of VirHRV-induced apoptotic and TLR4+ mononuclear cells (MNCs) (EcN, all tissues). Consistent with the highest NK cell activity, SWC3a+ MNCs (DC enriched fraction) from spleen of EcN colonized Gn pigs produced the highest levels of IL12 (essential for NK cell activation) in vitro. LGG colonization had less effect on VirHRV induced innate immune responses, and those of EcN+LGG colonized pigs were intermediate, suggesting that LGG and EcN modulate each other’s effects. Our results indicate that EcN partially protects against VirHRV infection and diarrhea by modulating innate immune responses.
28
Fu, Guobin, Neil R. Viney, Stephen P. Charles, and Jianrong Liu. "Long-Term Temporal Variation of Extreme Rainfall Events in Australia: 1910–2006." Journal of Hydrometeorology 11, no. 4 (August 1, 2010): 950–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2010jhm1204.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The temporal variability of the frequency of short-duration extreme precipitation events in Australia for the period 1910–2006 is examined using the high-quality rainfall dataset identified by the Bureau of Meteorology, Australia, for 189 stations. Extreme events are defined by duration and recurrence interval: 1, 5, 10, and 30 days, and 1, 5, and 20 yr, respectively. The results indicate that temporal variations of the extreme precipitation index (EPI) for various durations and recurrence intervals in the last 100 yr, except for the low frequencies before 1918, have experienced three U-shaped cycles: 1918–53, 1953–74, and 1974–2006. Seasonal results indicate that about two-thirds of 1-day, 1-yr recurrence interval extreme events occur from December to March. Time series of anomalies of the regional EPIs for four regions indicate that northeast Australia and southeast Australia have almost the same temporal variation as the national anomalies, South Australia experienced a negative anomaly of extreme rainfall events in the mid-1950s, and southwest Western Australia (SWWA) experienced relatively small temporal variation. The relationships between extreme rainfall events and the Southern Oscillation index (SOI) and the interdecadal Pacific oscillation (IPO) indicate that extreme rainfall events in Australia have a strong relationship with both, especially during La Niña years and after 1942.
29
Filintas, Agathos, Nikolaos Gougoulias, Nektarios Kourgialas, and Eleni Hatzichristou. "Management Soil Zones, Irrigation, and Fertigation Effects on Yield and Oil Content of Coriandrum sativum L. Using Precision Agriculture with Fuzzy k-Means Clustering." Sustainability 15, no. 18 (September 10, 2023): 13524. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su151813524.
Full textAbstract:
Precision agriculture (PA), management zone (MZ) strategies at the field level, soil analyses, deficit irrigation (DI), and fertilizer Variable Rate Application (VRA) are management strategies that help farmers improve crop production, fertilizer use efficiency, and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE). In order to further investigate these management strategies, the effects of four soil MZ treatments, which were delineated using PA with fuzzy k-means clustering, two irrigation levels [IR1:FI = full drip irrigation (>90% of θfc), IR2:VDI = variable deficit drip irrigation (60–75% of θfc)], and four VRA fertilizations were studied on coriander yield and essential oil content in a two-year research project in Greece. A daily soil-water-crop-atmosphere (SWCA) balance model and a daily depletion model were developed using sensor measurements (climatic parameter sensors as well as soil moisture sensors). Unbalanced one-way ANOVA (p = 0.05) statistical analysis results revealed that correct delineation of MZs by PA with fuzzy k-means clustering, if applied under deficit irrigation and VRA fertilization, leads to increased essential oil content of coriander with statistically significant differences (SSD) and lower fruit yields; however, without SSD differences among management zones, when appropriate VRA fertilization is applied to leverage soil nutrient levels through the different fuzzy clustered MZs for farming sustainability. Moreover, VDI compared to full irrigation in different MZs yields 22.85% to 29.44% in water savings, thus raising IWUE (up to 64.112 kg m−3), nitrogen efficiency (up to 5.623), and N-P-K fertilizer productivity (up to 5.329).
30
Mahmud, K., G. Mariethoz, A. Baker, P. C. Treble, M. Markowska, and E. McGuire. "Estimation of deep infiltration in unsaturated limestone environments using cave lidar and drip count data." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 20, no. 1 (January 20, 2016): 359–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-359-2016.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Limestone aeolianites constitute karstic aquifers covering much of the western and southern Australian coastal fringe. They are a key groundwater resource for a range of industries such as winery and tourism, and provide important ecosystem services such as habitat for stygofauna. Moreover, recharge estimation is important for understanding the water cycle, for contaminant transport, for water management, and for stalagmite-based paleoclimate reconstructions. Caves offer a natural inception point to observe both the long-term groundwater recharge and the preferential movement of water through the unsaturated zone of such limestone. With the availability of automated drip rate logging systems and remote sensing techniques, it is now possible to deploy the combination of these methods for larger-scale studies of infiltration processes within a cave. In this study, we utilize a spatial survey of automated cave drip monitoring in two large chambers of Golgotha Cave, south-western Western Australia (SWWA), with the aim of better understanding infiltration water movement and the relationship between infiltration, stalactite morphology, and unsaturated zone recharge. By applying morphological analysis of ceiling features from Terrestrial LiDAR (T-LiDAR) data, coupled with drip time series and climate data from 2012 to 2014, we demonstrate the nature of the relationships between infiltration through fractures in the limestone and unsaturated zone recharge. Similarities between drip rate time series are interpreted in terms of flow patterns, cave chamber morphology, and lithology. Moreover, we develop a new technique to estimate recharge in large-scale caves, engaging flow classification to determine the cave ceiling area covered by each flow category and drip data for the entire observation period, to calculate the total volume of cave discharge. This new technique can be applied to other cave sites to identify highly focussed areas of recharge and can help to better estimate the total recharge volume.
31
Mahmud, K., G. Mariethoz, A. Baker, P. C. Treble, M. Markowska, and E. McGuire. "Estimation of deep infiltration in unsaturated limestone environments using cave LiDAR and drip count data." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions 12, no. 9 (September 2, 2015): 8891–925. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hessd-12-8891-2015.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Limestone aeolianites constitute karstic aquifers covering much of the western and southern Australian coastal fringe. They are a key groundwater resource for a range of industries such as winery and tourism, and provide important ecosystem services such as habitat for stygofauna. Moreover, recharge estimation is important for understanding the water cycle, for contaminant transport, for water management and for stalagmite-based paleoclimate reconstructions. Caves offer a natural inception point to observe both the long-term groundwater recharge and the preferential movement of water through the unsaturated zone of such limestone. With the availability of automated drip rate logging systems and remote sensing techniques, it is now possible to deploy the combination of these methods for larger scale studies of infiltration processes within a cave. In this study, we utilize a spatial survey of automated cave drip monitoring in two large chambers of the Golgotha Cave, South-West Western Australia (SWWA), with the aim of better understanding infiltration water movement and the relationship between infiltration, stalactite morphology and unsaturated zone recharge. By applying morphological analysis of ceiling features from Terrestrial LiDAR (T-LiDAR) data, coupled with drip time series and climate data from 2012–2014, we demonstrate the nature of the relationships between infiltration through fractures in the limestone and unsaturated zone recharge. Similarities between drip-rate time series are interpreted in terms of flow patterns, cave chamber morphology and lithology. Moreover, we develop a new technique to estimate recharge in large scale caves, engaging flow classification to determine the cave ceiling area covered by each flow category and drip data for the entire observation period, to calculate the total volume of cave discharge. This new technique can be applied to other cave sites to identify highly focused areas of recharge and can help to better estimate the total recharge volume.
32
Filintas, Agathos, Aikaterini Nteskou, Nektarios Kourgialas, Nikolaos Gougoulias, and Eleni Hatzichristou. "A Comparison between Variable Deficit Irrigation and Farmers’ Irrigation Practices under Three Fertilization Levels in Cotton Yield (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Using Precision Agriculture, Remote Sensing, Soil Analyses, and Crop Growth Modeling." Water 14, no. 17 (August 28, 2022): 2654. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w14172654.
Full textAbstract:
The major global challenge for the coming decades will be increasing crop production with less water consumption. Precision agriculture (PA) and variable deficit irrigation (VDI) are management strategies that help farmers to improve crop production, fertilizer’s efficiency, and water use efficiency (WUE). The effects of irrigation (IR1 = variable deficit irrigation; IR2 = farmers’ irrigation common practices) under three fertilization (Ft1, Ft2, Ft3) treatments were studied on a cotton yield, on various indicators for more efficient water and fertilizer use, and on plant growth characteristics by applying a number of new agrotechnologies (such as TDR sensors; soil moisture (SM); PA; remote-sensing NDVI (Sentinel-2 satellite sensors); soil hydraulic analyses; geostatistical models; and SM root-zone modelling 2D GIS mapping). The reference evapotranspiration was computed based on the F.A.O. Penman–Monteith method. The crop (ETc) and actual (ETa) evapotranspiration were computed using crop coefficients obtained from the remote-sensing NDVI vegetation index (R2 = 0.9327). A daily soil–water–crop–atmosphere (SWCA) balance model and a depletion model were developed using sensor data (climatic parameters’ sensors, as well as soil and satellite sensors) measurements. The two-way ANOVA statistical analysis results revealed that irrigation (IR1 = best) and fertilization treatments (Ft2 = best) significantly affected the cotton yield, the plant height, the plant stem, the boll weight, the above-ground dry matter, nitrogen and fertilizer efficiency, and WUE. VDI, if applied wisely during critical growth stages, could result in a substantial improvement in the yield (up to +28.664%) and water savings (up to 24.941%), thus raising water productivity (+35.715% up to 42.659%), WUE (from farmers’ 0.421–0.496 kg·m−3 up to a VDI of 0.601–0.685 kg·m−3), nitrogen efficiency (+16.888% up to +22.859%), and N-P-K fertilizer productivity (from farmers’ 16.754–23.769 up to a VDI of 20.583–27.957).
33
O’Kane, Terence J., Jorgen S. Frederiksen, Carsten S. Frederiksen, and Illia Horenko. "Beyond the First Tipping Points of Southern Hemisphere Climate." Climate 12, no. 6 (May 31, 2024): 81. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cli12060081.
Full textAbstract:
Analysis of observations, reanalysis, and model simulations, including those using machine learning methods specifically designed for regime identification, has revealed changes in aspects of the Southern Hemisphere (SH) circulation and Australian climate and extremes over the last half-century that indicate transitions to new states. In particular, our analysis shows a dramatic shift in the metastability of the SH climate that occurred in the late 1970s, associated with a large-scale regime transition in the SH atmospheric circulation, with systematic changes in the subtropical jet, blocking, zonal winds, and storm tracks. Analysis via nonstationary clustering reveals a regime shift coincident with a sharp transition to warmer oceanic sea surface temperatures and increased baroclinicity in the large scales of the Antarctic Circumpolar Circulation (ACC), extending across the whole hemisphere. At the same time, the background state of the tropical Pacific thermocline shoaled, leading to an increased likelihood of El Niño events. The SH climate shift in the late 1970s is the first hemispheric regime shift that can be directly attributed to anthropogenic climate change. These changes in dynamics are associated with additional regional tipping points, including reductions in mean and extreme rainfall in south-west Western Australia (SWWA) and streamflow into Perth dams, and also with increases in mean and extreme rainfall over northern Australia since the late 1970s. The drying of south-eastern Australia (SEA) occurred against a background of accelerating increases in average and extreme temperatures across the whole continent since the 1990s, implying further inflection points may have occurred. Analysis of climate model simulations capturing the essence of these observed shifts indicates that these systematic changes will continue into the late 21st century under high greenhouse gas emission scenarios. Here, we review two decades of work, revealing for the first time that tipping points characteristic of regime transitions are inferred to have already occurred in the SH climate system.
34
Skinner, Elizabeth. "The Coronado Project: Anasazi Settlements Overlooking the Puerco Valley, Arizona, Volume 1. Marianne Marek, David H. Greenwald, and Richard V. N. Ahlstrom, editors. Anthropological Research Papers No. 3. SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants, Flagstaff, 1993. xi + 231 pp., figures, tables, appendix, references. $20.00 (paper). - The Coronado Project: Anasazi Settlements Overlooking the Puerco Valley, Arizona, Volume 2. Richard V. N. Ahlstrom, Marianne Marek, and David H Greenwald, editors. Anthropological Research Papers No. 3. SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants, Flagstaff, 1993. ix + 363 pp., figures, tables, appendix, references. $20.00 (paper). - The Coronado Project: Anasazi Settlements Overlooking the Puerco Valley, Arizona, Volume 3. David H Greenwald, Marianne Marek, and Richard V. N Ahlstrom, editors. Anthropological Research Papers No. 3. SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants, Flagstaff, 1993. vii + 173 pp., figures, tables, appendix, references. $20.00 (paper); $50.00—set." American Antiquity 60, no. 2 (April 1995): 372–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/282149.
Full text
35
Cosoli, Simone, Charitha Pattiaratchi, and Yasha Hetzel. "High-Frequency Radar Observations of Surface Circulation Features along the South-Western Australian Coast." Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 8, no. 2 (February 5, 2020): 97. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jmse8020097.
Full textAbstract:
A new merged high-frequency radar (HFR) data set collected using SeaSonde and WERA (WEllen RAdar) systems was used to examine the ocean surface circulation at diurnal, seasonal and inter-annual time scales along the south-west coast of Australia (SWWA), between 29°–32° S. Merging was performed after resampling WERA data on the coarser SeaSonde HFR grid and averaging data from the two HFR systems in the area of common overlap. Direct comparisons between WERA and SeaSonde vectors in their overlapping areas provided scalar and vector correlation values in the range Ru = [0.24, 0.76]; Rv = [0.39, 0.83]; ρ = [0.44, 0.75], with mean bias between velocity components in the range [−0.02, 0.28] ms−1, [−0.16, 0.16] ms−1 for the U, V components, respectively. The lower agreement between vectors was obtained in general at the boundaries of the HFR domains, where the combined effects of the bearing errors, geometrical constraints, and the limited angular field of view were predominant. The combined data set allowed for a novel characterization of the dominant features in the region, such as the warmer poleward-flowing Leeuwin Current (LC), the colder Capes Current (CC) and its northward extensions, the presence of sub-mesoscale to mesoscale eddies and their generation and aggregation areas, along with the extent offshore of the inertial-diurnal signal. The contribution of tides was weak within the entire HFR domain (<10% total variance), whilst signatures of significant inertial- and diurnal-period currents were present due to diurnal–inertial resonance. A clear discontinuity in energy and variance distribution occurred at the shelf break, which separates the continental shelf and deeper offshore regions, and defined the core of the LC. Confined between the LC and the coastline, the narrower and colder CC current was a feature during the summer months. Persistent (lifespan greater than 1 day) sub-mesoscale eddies (Rossby number O (1)) were observed at two main regions, north and south of 31.5° S, offshore of the 200 m depth contour. The majority of these eddies had diameters in the range 10–20 km with 50% more counter clockwise rotating (CCW) eddies compared to clockwise (CW) rotating eddies. The northern region was dominated by CCW eddies that were present throughout the year whilst CW eddies were prevalent in the south with lower numbers during the summer months.
36
Hardesty, Donald L. "Life on a 1930s Homestead: Historical Archaeological Investigations of the Brown Homestead on the Middle Agua Fria River, Yavapai County, Arizona. James E. Ayres and Gregory R. Seymour. Anthropological Research Paper No. 2. SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants, Flagstaff, 1993. v + 44 pp., figures, references cited. No price given." American Antiquity 61, no. 1 (January 1996): 181. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/282329.
Full text
37
Shelton, Christopher. "Intensive Cultural Resources Survey of the Brushy Creek Sewer Line Phase 3 Project in the City of Ingram, Kerr County, Texas." Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.21112/ita.2020.1.24.
Full textAbstract:
On behalf of the City of Ingram, Texas, SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted an intensive cultural resources survey of the proposed Brushy Creek Sewer Line Project (Project) in Kerr County, Texas. The approximately 1-mile-long sewer main extension line is being developed by the City of Ingram, a political subdivision of the State of Texas; therefore, the Project requires compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). In addition, the Project will receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); therefore, the work was conducted to comply with requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). This cultural resources investigation was conducted under ACT Permit No. 9243. The Project begins just south of Winona Street West and terminates just south of Highway 27. The Project Area includes the proposed linear alignment situated within a 25-foot-wide corridor and lies on undeveloped land. Proposed impacts are expected to include widespread surficial modifications with deeper impacts in location of sewer lines. The cultural resources investigation consisted of a background and historical map review, followed by intensive pedestrian survey augmented by shovel testing conducted by SWCA archaeologists. SWCA’s background review determined that there are no known cultural resources within the Project area. SWCA also reviewed a 0.5-mile study area surrounding the proposed Project. This review determined there are a total of five previously conducted surveys and six previously recorded archaeological sites within 0.5 mile of the Project area. None of the six previously recorded sites have been recommended as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Additionally, no NRHP districts or properties, sites designated as State Antiquities Landmarks, historical markers, cemeteries, or local neighborhood surveys were identified within the Project area or the larger study area. During field investigations conducted on February 4, 2019, SWCA conducted an intensive archaeological pedestrian survey augmented with shovel testing of the Project area. For linear projects, the Texas Historical Commission (THC)/Council of Texas Archaeologists (CTA) survey standards require a minimum of 16 shovel tests per mile with thorough documentation of all exceptions noted (e.g., disturbance, slope, and impervious surfaces). Based on these standards, SWCA exceeded the requirements by excavating a total of 34 shovel tests within the 1-mile Project area. No cultural materials were identified on the ground surface or within any of the shovel tests excavated within the Project area. In accordance with the ACT and with Section 106 of the NHPA (36 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 800.4 (b)(1)), SWCA has made a reasonable and good faith effort to identify historic properties within the area of potential effects. SWCA recommends a finding of No Historic Properties Affected per 36 CFR 800. 5(b) and no further archaeological investigation of the current Project area is recommended. No artifacts or samples were collected during this survey. All survey-related documentation will be curated at the Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas at San Antonio.
38
Shelton, Christopher, and Victoria Myers. "Cultural Resources Survey for the City of Florence Municipal Facilities Complex Project, Williamson County, Texas." Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.21112/ita.2020.1.41.
Full textAbstract:
On behalf of the City of Florence, Texas, SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted an intensive cultural resources survey of the proposed City of Florence Municipal Facilities Complex (Project) in Williamson County, Texas. The 1.2-acre parcel scheduled for redevelopment is located on land owned and managed by the City of Florence, a political subdivision of the state of Texas; therefore, the Project requires compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). In addition, the project will receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); therefore, the work was conducted to comply with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). This cultural resources investigation was conducted under ACT Permit No. 9142. On behalf of the USDA, SWCA has also issued engagement letters to the six Tribes identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as having overlapping interest with the Project area. To date, SWCA has yet to receive comments from the identified Tribes. The parcel on which the Project is proposed contains four extant buildings/structures: the Florence City Hall, the Chamber of Commerce, a large Veteran’s Memorial, and a thrift store. As part of the Project, all but the Veteran’s Memorial are scheduled for demolition and a larger municipal complex is expected to be constructed in their stead. Impacts are expected to include widespread surficial modifications with deeper impacts in locations of foundations and utilities. The cultural resources investigation consisted of a background and historical map review followed by intensive pedestrian survey augmented by shovel testing conducted by an archaeologist, and an assessment of the extant buildings conducted by an architectural historian. SWCA’s background review determined that there are no known cultural resources within the Project area. Additionally, the historical map review identified only two potential historical structures within the Project area. During field investigations on September 25 and November 5, 2019, SWCA confirmed that the four extant buildings/structures on the subject property are of modern construction, and therefore, are not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and are not considered eligible for designation as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). In addition, the two potential historical structures identified during the historical map review within the Project area are not extant. SWCA excavated a total of 12 shovel tests within the Project area, three of which were positive for cultural materials. The cultural material includes an axe head, an unidentifiable metal fragment, a round nail, and a white-bodied earthenware sherd. The artifacts found within the shovel tests cannot be securely identified as being from a historic origin and were found with, or near the same depth as, modern plastic fragments. Furthermore, the soils within the Project area exhibited a high degree of disturbance due to decades of construction, landscaping, and tree planting, as well as buried utilities. Due to the lack of soil integrity and the lack of artifacts that can securely be attributed to a historic origin, SWCA finds the three positive shovel tests as constituting an isolated find and does not rise to the level of an archaeological site. As such, the isolated finds do not meet the criteria for NRHP listing nor SAL designation. No other cultural resources were identified within the Project area. In accordance with the ACT and with Section 106 of the NHPA (36 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 800.4 (b)(1)), SWCA has made a reasonable and good faith effort to identify historic properties within the area of potential effects. SWCA recommends a finding of No Historic Properties Affected per 36 CFR 800. 5(b) and no further archaeological investigation of the current Project area is recommended. No artifacts or samples were collected during this survey. All survey-related documentation will be curated at the Center for Archaeological Studies, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.
39
Cody, Mercedes, Christina Nielsen, and Brandon Young. "Addendum Report: Additional Cultural Resources Investigations of the Vista Ridge Regional Water Supply Project in Burleson, Lee, Bastrop, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Comal and Bexar Counties, Texas." Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.21112/ita.2019.1.24.
Full textAbstract:
On behalf of VRRSP Consultants, LLC, and Central Texas Regional Water Supply Corporation (CTRWSC), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA), conducted further intensive cultural resources investigations of the Vista Ridge Regional Water Supply (Vista Ridge) Project in Burleson, Lee, Bastrop, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Comal, and Bexar Counties. The project will involve installation of a 140.2-mile-long, 60-inch-diameter water pipeline from Deanville, Burleson County, Texas, to north-central San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The area of potential effects (APE) will consist of the proposed centerline alignment and an 85-foot-wide corridor for temporary and permanent construction easements; however, SWCA surveyed a 100-foot-wide corridor to allow for minor shifts in the alignment. This addendum report details the findings of additional cultural resources investigations between 2016 and 2018, on the alignment. The Vista Ridge Project is subject to review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 USC 306108) and its implementing regulations (36 CFR 800), in anticipation of a Nationwide Permit 12 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in accordance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. In addition, the work is subject to compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT) under Permit No. 7295, as the Vista Ridge Project ultimately will be owned by a political subdivision of the State of Texas. Furthermore, all human burials in the state of Texas are protected by law, as per the Texas Health and Safety Code Section 711 General Provisions Relating to Cemeteries and the Texas Administrative Code Title 13, THC, Chapter 22 Cemeteries, Sections 22.1 through 22.6. If human burials are encountered in the Project Area and the remains are determined to be Native American, they will be handled in accordance with procedures established through coordination with the THC; work in the affected area would only resume per THC authorization. Between 2016 and 2018, SWCA investigated approximately 29.5 miles of the current 140.2-mile-long project corridor and the proposed 6.9-mile-long wellfield pipeline that was not previously surveyed during the prior 2015 investigations (Acuña et al. 2016). Investigations consisted of intensive pedestrian survey augmented with shovel testing and hand-excavated auger probes and/or mechanical backhoe trenching in select areas. In addition, SWCA investigated the 25.82-acre terminus site slated for the construction of an integration system (Atwood and Ward 2017). SWCA also surveyed additional mileage, which included rerouted areas that are no longer part of the currently proposed alignment. SWCA excavated 967 shovel tests, 96 auger probes, and 85 backhoe trenches during these additional investigations. SWCA documented or further investigated 28 cultural resources within the Vista Ridge Project during the 2016 to 2018 investigations. Of the 28 resources, seven were isolated finds that did not warrant formal site recording or require additional investigations. The remaining 21 cultural resources include 15 prehistoric sites, three historic sites, and three multi-component sites with both prehistoric and historic cultural materials. Of the 21 sites, two (i.e., 41BP960 and 41BP961) are currently UNDETERMINED regarding eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL), and one site (i.e., 41GU177) was determined to be ELIGIBLE for listing on the NRHP and for designation as a SAL. SWCA conducted testing and data recovery excavations at site 41GU177 and the results of testing investigations conducted under Permit No. 7295 are presented as an appendix to this report (Rodriguez et al. 2017); the data recovery investigations of site 41GU177 were completed under Permit No. 8231 and will be a separate report. Additionally, sites 41BP960 and 41BP961 have been avoided by design alignment changes and will not be impacted by the Vista Ridge Project. The remaining 18 cultural resources sites are considered NOT ELIGIBLE for nomination to the NRHP or for designation as SALs and no further cultural resources investigations or avoidance are recommended. In addition, SWCA documented two cemeteries (the Hill Cemetery and the Hoffman Cemetery) during the 2016 to 2018 investigations. Due to subsequent reroutes, the Hill Cemetery (located within the boundaries of site 41BP818) is now avoided and will not be impacted by the project. Mechanical scraping was conducted adjacent to the Hoffman Cemetery in compliance with the Texas Health and Safety Code; no evidence of interments was identified within the project area. In accordance with 36 CFR 800.4 and the ACT, SWCA has made a reasonable and good faith effort to identify cultural resources within the project area. Two sites (i.e., 41BP960 and 41BP961) are recommended as having UNDETERMINED eligibility for listing on the NRHP or for SAL designation and one site (41GU177) is recommended as ELIGIBLE. The remaining 18 are recommended as NOT ELIGIBLE for listing on the NRHP or for SAL designation. Site 41GU177 has been mitigated and the results will be presented in a stand-alone report (Nielsen et al. 2019). The two sites (41BP960 and 41BP961) of UNDETERMINED eligibility have been avoided by design alignment changes and will not be impacted by the project. No further work or avoidance strategy is recommended for the remaining 18 archaeological sites identified during the Vista Ridge Project.
40
Salgado, Sophia, and Laura Clark. "Cultural Resources Investigations for the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Project, Bexar County, Texas." Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.21112/ita.2020.1.23.
Full textAbstract:
At the request of TriLeaf Corporation (TriLeaf), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted a cultural resources investigation for the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) Project (Project) located in Bexar County, Texas. The Project involves the installation of a 432-foot-long (132-meter [m]-long) fiber-optic communication line directly south of Floyd Curl Drive in northwest San Antonio, Texas. The total disturbance of the proposed Project area measures approximately 0.28 acre (0.1 hectare [ha]) in size. The Project area is situated on the grounds of UTHSCSA and located approximately 8.48 miles (13.65 kilometers [km]) from downtown San Antonio. At its nearest, Zarzamora Creek is 40 feet (12 m) northwest of the Project area. The proposed Project includes property owned by the UTHSCSA, a political subdivision of the state of Texas, and is therefore subject to review by the Texas Historical Commission (THC) under the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT) and the City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation (SA-OHP) under the Historic Preservation and Design Sections of the City of San Antonio’s Unified Development Code (UDC) (Article VI 35-606). SWCA conducted all work in accordance with the standards and guidelines set forth by the THC and the Council of Texas Archaeologists under ACT Permit No. 9311. The purpose of the investigation was to identify and assess any cultural resources, such as historic and prehistoric archaeological sites and historic buildings, structures, objects, and sites (such as cemeteries) that might be located within the boundaries of the proposed Project area and evaluate the significance of these cultural resources. Investigations consisted of a background literature and historical map review and monitoring of mechanical trench excavations within the Project area. SWCA conducted all investigations in accordance with the standards and guidelines established by the THC and the Council of Texas Archeologists. The background review determined that the Project area has not been previously surveyed for cultural resources, and three cultural resources investigations and three previously recorded cultural resources occurred within a 1.0-mile (1.6-km) radius of the Project area. SWCA’s intensive archaeological monitoring was performed during construction activities that occurred on April 7–14, 2020. All work within the Project area was conducted within moderately disturbed deposits. SWCA observed no subsurface cultural materials and no cultural features or temporally diagnostic artifacts were encountered. In accordance with the City of San Antonio UDC and the ACT, SWCA has made a reasonable and good faith effort to identify cultural resources properties within the Project area. No properties were identified within the Project area that may meet the criteria for listing as a State Antiquities Landmark, nor as a Historic Landmark or District according to the UDC. Therefore, SWCA recommends that no additional cultural resources investigations are warranted within the UTHSCSA Project Area, as currently defined. Following the review and acceptance of the final cultural resources report, all records and photographs will be curated with the Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio, per requirements of the ACT.
41
Lu, Songwei, Yuejun Zhao, and Edward A. P. Hellerman. "UV-durable self-cleaning coatings for autonomous driving." Scientific Reports 14, no. 1 (April 5, 2024). http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58549-y.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractA key technology to ensure the safety and accuracy of autonomous driving for future transportation is the cleanliness of the sensor surfaces for accurate signal reading. This study focuses on hydrophobic coatings with self-cleaning performances and UV durability, their possible degradation mechanism of static water contact angle (sWCA), and the effect of the hydrophobic surface on camera image quality. The UV-durable hydrophobic coatings are applied by a spray process followed by a thermal curing. The UV-durable hydrophobic coatings are evaluated on a vision camera under lab-simulated weathering conditions such as rain, mud, fog, and bugs, on samples as-prepared and after various hours of Weather-Ometer® weathering. The results indicate that the sWCA degradation of the UV-durable hydrophobic coatings during accelerated weathering is corresponding to the loss of fluorine (F) atomic percentage in the coatings, and the vision camera imaging quality improves significantly with the UV-durable hydrophobic coatings in comparison to an uncoated surface. The self-cleaning performances of the UV-durable hydrophobic coatings, as measured by two metrics using signal-to-noise ratio and modulation transfer function 50 loss (MTF50loss), linearly correlate with sWCA of the coatings. The UV-durable hydrophobic coatings on the sensor surface will significantly benefit autonomous driving specifically for accurate signal reading under inclement weather.
42
Dilinuer, Tuoliewubieke, Junqiang Yao, Jing Chen, Yong Zhao, Weiyi Mao, Jiangang Li, and Lianmei Yang. "Systematical Evaluation of Three Gridded Daily Precipitation Products Against Rain Gauge Observations Over Central Asia." Frontiers in Earth Science 9 (November 1, 2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.699628.
Full textAbstract:
Understanding the precipitation variability and extreme precipitation over arid Central Asia (CA) has largely been hampered by the lack of daily precipitation observations. The gridded precipitation datasets over CA are large discrepancies. Here, three gauge-based gridded daily precipitation products from Asian Precipitation Highly-Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation (APHRODITE), Global Precipitation Climatology Center (GPCC), and Climate Prediction Center Based Analysis of Global Daily Precipitation (CPC_global) were assessed and compared with 49 rain gauge daily observations precipitation (OBS) from January 1985 to December 2015 using different time-scales over CA and different climate regimes, specifically Northern CA with temperate continental climate (NCA), Southwestern CA with dry arid desert climate (SWCA), and Southeastern CA with Mediterranean continental climate (SECA). Four accuracy indices [correlation coefficient (R), Bias, root mean square error (RMSE), and relative bias (RBias)] were employed to evaluate the performance of the three products in depicting the spatiotemporal features of precipitation variation over CA at multiple time scales (including daily, monthly, seasonal, and yearly). The mean annual and daily precipitation of OBS and three gridded products exhibit the trend of a gradual precipitation decreased from SECA to NCA and SWCA. The best overall performance was obtained for APHRODITE and GPCC for daily and annual time-scale, whereas CPC shows noticeable underestimation precipitation in SECA. The monthly precipitation depicted distinct features with a bimodal pattern with a peak in March and another in December, include the SECA and SWCA regions. In contrast, precipitation was concentrated in summer with the peak in July over the NCA region. At monthly scale terms, APHRODITE was more accurate in the wet seasons (winter and spring months) in SWCA and SECA. Additionally, GPCC has fairly better capability in summer months in NCA. Considering the spatial distribution, the bias variability was largerly in mountainous areas than in the plains. Temporally, the bias largerly in the dry seasons than in the wet seasons. At the interannual variability scale, GPCC was capable of qualitatively increasing the CA (NCA and SECA) precipitation during the last 21 years, while APHRODITE underestimated the trends. The CPC overestimated the precipitation trends over all regions. This study can serve as a reference for selecting daily precipitation products with low densities of stations, complex topographies, and similar climatic regions.
43
Castiglia, Stefano Filippo, Dante Trabassi, Carmela Conte, Valeria Gioiosa, Gabriele Sebastianelli, Chiara Abagnale, Alberto Ranavolo, et al. "Local Dynamic Stability of Trunk During Gait is Responsive to Rehabilitation in Subjects with Primary Degenerative Cerebellar Ataxia." Cerebellum, January 27, 2024. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12311-024-01663-4.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThis study aimed to assess the responsiveness to the rehabilitation of three trunk acceleration-derived gait indexes, namely the harmonic ratio (HR), the short-term longest Lyapunov’s exponent (sLLE), and the step-to-step coefficient of variation (CV), in a sample of subjects with primary degenerative cerebellar ataxia (swCA), and investigate the correlations between their improvements (∆), clinical characteristics, and spatio-temporal and kinematic gait features. The trunk acceleration patterns in the antero-posterior (AP), medio-lateral (ML), and vertical (V) directions during gait of 21 swCA were recorded using a magneto-inertial measurement unit placed at the lower back before (T0) and after (T1) a period of inpatient rehabilitation. For comparison, a sample of 21 age- and gait speed-matched healthy subjects (HSmatched) was also included. At T1, sLLE in the AP (sLLEAP) and ML (sLLEML) directions significantly improved with moderate to large effect sizes, as well as SARA scores, stride length, and pelvic rotation. sLLEML and pelvic rotation also approached the HSmatched values at T1, suggesting a normalization of the parameter. HRs and CV did not significantly modify after rehabilitation. ∆sLLEML correlated with ∆ of the gait subscore of the SARA scale (SARAGAIT) and ∆stride length and ∆sLLEAP correlated with ∆pelvic rotation and ∆SARAGAIT. The minimal clinically important differences for sLLEML and sLLEAP were ≥ 36.16% and ≥ 28.19%, respectively, as the minimal score reflects a clinical improvement in SARA scores. When using inertial measurement units, sLLEAP and sLLEML can be considered responsive outcome measures for assessing the effectiveness of rehabilitation on trunk stability during walking in swCA.
44
DYBING, N. A., C. JACOBSON, P. IRWIN, D. ALGAR, and P. J. ADAMS. "Ghosts of Christmas past?: absence of trypanosomes in feral cats and black rats from Christmas Island and Western Australia." Parasitology Open 2 (2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/pao.2016.1.
Full textAbstract:
SUMMARYTrypanosomes andLeishmaniaare vector-borne parasites associated with high morbidity and mortality.Trypanosoma lewisi, putatively introduced with black rats and fleas, has been implicated in the extinction of two native rodents on Christmas Island (CI) and native trypanosomes are hypothesized to have caused decline in Australian marsupial populations on the mainland. This study investigated the distribution and prevalence ofTrypanosomaspp. andLeishmaniaspp. in two introduced pests (cats and black rats) for three Australian locations. Molecular screening (PCR) on spleen tissue was performed on cats from CI (n= 35), Dirk Hartog Island (DHI;n= 23) and southwest Western Australia (swWA) (n= 58), and black rats from CI only (n= 46). Despite the continued presence of the intermediate and mechanical hosts of T.lewisi, there was no evidence of trypanosome orLeishmaniainfection in cats or rats from CI. Trypanosomes were not identified in cats from DHI or swWA. These findings suggestT. lewisiis no longer present on CI and endemic Trypanosoma spp. do not infect cats or rats in these locations.
45
Carpenter, Steve, Christina Nielsen, Jessica Ulmer, Mercedes Cody, and Janaka Greene. "Cultural Resources Survey of Portions of the Rio Bravo LNG Pipeline on Port of Brownsville Lands, Cameron County, Texas." Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.21112/ita.2020.1.26.
Full textAbstract:
On behalf of Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E & E), Rio Grande LNG, LLC, and Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC (RB Pipeline), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted cultural resources surveys of portions of the Rio Bravo Pipeline on lands owned or controlled by the Port of Brownsville in Cameron County, Texas. Rio Grande LNG, LLC proposes to construct a natural gas liquefaction facility and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal (Terminal) in Cameron County, Texas, along the north embankment of the Brownsville Ship Channel. In concert with the Terminal, RB Pipeline proposes to construct an associated pipeline system (Pipeline System/Project) within Cameron, Willacy, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Jim Wells Counties, Texas to allow for interconnection with a network of existing pipelines that traverse the northern end of Kleberg County and Jim Wells County. The proposed Pipeline System/Project will collect and transport natural gas to the Terminal site. In compliance with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitting requirements and oversight, SWCA conducted cultural resources investigations in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 306108) and its implementing regulations in 36 Code of Federal Regulations 800. Although the entire Project is subject to compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA, this stand-alone report specifically addresses portions of the alignment that will be located on lands owned by the Port of Brownsville (Port). Since the Port is a political subdivision of the state, investigations were conducted in compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT) under ACT Permit No. 8588 administered by the Texas Historical Commission (THC). The data in this report is also presented in Addendum IV (Carpenter et al., 2020) to the final report (Nielsen et al., 2016) of the overall investigations. The investigations covered 0.58 mile (0.93 kilometers [km]) of proposed pipeline corridor within a 200-foot-wide (60.96-meter [m]-wide) pipeline survey corridor, and 0.31 mile (0.50 km) of proposed access roads within a 50-foot-wide (15.24-m-wide) access roads survey corridor, for a Project Area total of approximately 15.8 acres within Port property. The cultural resources investigations included a background and historical map review, and an intensive pedestrian survey with subsurface testing. The background review identified nine previously conducted archaeological surveys within a 1-mile radius of the Project Area, three of which intersect the current Project Area. The background review identified no previously recorded archaeological sites within the Project Area; however, seven archaeological sites are within a 1-mile radius none of which are immediately adjacent (within 300 feet [91.44 m]) to the Project Area. In addition, a review of historical maps determined that there are no historic-age structures or features mapped within or immediately adjacent to the Project Area. SWCA archaeologists conducted the cultural resources intensive pedestrian survey on October 22, 2018. The investigation revealed an extensively disturbed setting due to historic & modern development in the area mainly associated with the Port. SWCA archaeologists excavated a total of nine shovel tests within the Project Area all negative for cultural materials. No cultural materials or features or historic-age structures were identified within the Project Area during the field survey. In accordance with the ACT and Section 106 of the NHPA, SWCA has made a reasonable and good faith effort to identify cultural resources within the Project Area of Potential Effects (APE). No cultural resources were identified within the Project Area during the current investigations. Accordingly, no further investigation is recommended for the assessed sections of the Project Area. The THC concurred with these findings and recommendations on January 14, 2020. No artifacts were recovered; documentation will be curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory of The University of Texas at Austin.
46
Salgado, Sophia, Zachary Overfield, and Cody Roush. "Cultural Resources Investigations for the CrownQuest City of Midland Oil and Gas Project, Midland and Glasscock Counties, Texas." Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.21112/ita.2018.1.15.
Full textAbstract:
SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) was retained by CrownQuest Operating, LLC, to complete an intensive cultural resources investigation for the proposed CrownQuest City of Midland Oil and Gas Project (Project). The Project includes newly proposed oil and gas well pads, crude oil pipeline, and associated access roads on City of Midland property in Midland and Glasscock Counties, Texas. These new components will be constructed within an existing upstream oil and gas system. The 149.9-acre (60.7-hectare) Project area is located approximately 15 miles southeast of Midland, Texas, immediately south of Highway 158, and is situated along and between Johnson and Pemberton Draws. The Project involves a political subdivision within the state of Texas (City of Midland). The Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT) applies because the Project’s activities occur on property owned by the City of Midland and will involve more than 5 acres / 5,000 cubic yards of land disturbance or may potentially affect known archaeological sites. It is SWCA’s understanding that the Project does not currently have a federal nexus, and it is not subject to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The purpose of this investigation was to identify and assess any cultural resources, such as historic and prehistoric archaeological sites and historic buildings, structures, objects, and sites (such as cemeteries) that might be located within the boundaries of the proposed Project and evaluate their significance and eligibility for designation as a State Antiquities Landmark. The investigations included a background and historic map review of the Project area and immediately surrounding region followed by pedestrian survey with visual examination and shovel test excavations at proposed Project activity areas. All investigations were conducted in accordance with the ACT and standards and guidelines established by the THC and Council of Texas Archeologists. Following the review and acceptance of the final cultural resources report, all records and photographs will be curated with the Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio, per requirements of the ACT in accordance with the CTA guidelines. The cultural resources investigation was conducted under ACT Permit No. 8506. Fieldwork was performed from July 30 to August 4, 2018. The Project setting was mainly eroded and heavily disturbed uplands with occasional exposures of bedrock and caliche. Pedestrian survey was augmented by hand excavating 253 shovel tests and seven auger tests, which were terminated at the maximum reachable depth or at soils likely predating human occupation, typically around 45 cm below surface. The most pervasive land disturbance observed was related to petroleum exploration and extraction activities that have generally impacted ground surface integrity. During the investigation SWCA archaeologists did not observe any prehistoric or historic cultural resources within the Project area. The location near site 41MD4, identified during the background review, could not be visited by SWCA survey staff due to a fire in the facility. The site boundary defined does not extend into a proposed Project activity area and the closest associated Project item is already disturbed. On that basis it is not considered to be a Project concern. Based on the negative findings of the intensive cultural resources survey, SWCA recommends that no further archaeological investigations are warranted within the assessed portions of the CrownQuest City of Midland Oil and Gas Project area.
47
Acuna, Laura, Brandon Young, and Rhiana Ward. "Cultural Resources Investigations of the Vista Ridge Regional Water Supply Project in Burleson, Lee, Bastrop, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Comal and Bexar Counties, Texas." Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.21112/ita.2016.1.107.
Full textAbstract:
On behalf of VRRSP Consultants, LLC and Central Texas Regional Water Supply Corporation (CTRWSC), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted cultural resources investigations of the Vista Ridge Regional Water Supply (Vista Ridge) Project in Burleson, Lee, Bastrop, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Comal, and Bexar Counties. The work will involve installation of a 139.45-mile-long, 60-inch-diameter water pipeline from northcentral San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, to Deanville, Burleson County, Texas. The report details the findings of investigations from June 2015 to December 2015, on the alignment dated December 8, 2015 (December 8th). The Vista Ridge Project is subject to review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 USC 306108) and its implementing regulations (36 CFR 800), in anticipation of a Nationwide Permit 12 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in accordance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. In addition, the work is subject to compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas under Permit Number 7295, as the Vista Ridge Project will be ultimately owned by a political subdivision of the State of Texas. The cultural resources investigations included a background review and intensive field survey. The background review identified previous investigations, recorded archaeological sites, National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) properties, cemeteries, standing structures, and other known cultural resources within a 0.50-mile radius of the project area. The field investigations conducted from June 2015 through December 2015 assessed all accessible portions of the proposed December 8th alignment as of December 25, 2015. Approximately 101.8 miles of the 139.45-mile alignment has been surveyed. Approximately 24.42 miles were not surveyed based on the results of the background review and extensive disturbances as confirmed by vehicular survey. The remaining 13.23 miles that require survey were either unavailable due to landowner restrictions or part of a newly adopted reroute. SWCA also surveyed additional mileage, which includes rerouted areas that are no longer part of the December 8th alignment. The inventory identified 59 cultural resources, including 52 archaeological sites and seven isolated finds. In addition to newly recorded resources, two previously recorded archaeological sites were revisited, and two cemeteries were documented. Of the 52 newly recorded archaeological sites, seven are recommended for further work or avoidance. Of the two revisited archeological sites, one is recommended for further work or avoidance within the project area. Avoidance is recommended for both documented cemeteries. The resources with undetermined eligibility require additional testing or other avenues of research before SWCA can make a firm recommendation about their eligibility for nomination to the NRHP and designation as State Antiquities Landmarks (SALs). As part of a management strategy, the resources with undetermined eligibility may also be avoided by reroute or boring beneath. The remaining 45 cultural resources are recommended not eligible for inclusion to the NRHP or for designation as SALs and no further cultural resources investigations or avoidance strategies are recommended.
48
Mickaelian, A., S. Hakopian, S. Farmanyan, and G. Mikayelyan. "IAU South West and Central Asian Regional Office of Astronomy for Development." Communications of the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory, 2017, 136–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.52526/25792776-2017.1-136.
Full textAbstract:
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced its Strategic Plan on Astronomy for Development in 2009, during the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). One of its main components was the creation of the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) and corresponding Regional Offices (ROADs) for implementation and coordination of its aims. The OAD was created in Cape Town, South Africa and later on ROADs were created in 8 regions. Since 2015, Armenia hosts one of them, IAU South West Asian (SWA), later renamed to South West and Central Asian (SWCA) ROAD. At present, already 6 countries have officially joined (Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkey), but the Office serves for a rather broad region, from Eastern Europe to Central Asia. Armenia’s geographical location and its historical role in astronomy (both for well-known archaeoastronomical heritage and the presence of the famous Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO) founded by Viktor Ambartsumian in 1946) serve as a link between Europe and Eastern Partnership countries, Middle East and Asia in general. We run activities in 3 directions, Task Forces (TF): TF1 Universities and Research, TF2 Children and Schools and TF3 Public Outreach. We present our projects and all other accomplishments and discuss the role of our ROAD in maintaining contacts and development of astronomy in the region, as well as contacts between Europe and the Eastern Partnership countries. Most up-to-date information about the IAU SWCA ROAD is available on its webpage at http://iau-swaroad.aras.am/eng/index.php.
49
Mickaelian, A. M., S. V. Farmanyan, and G. A. Mikayelyan. "IAU South-West and Central Asian Regional Office of Astronomy for Development." Communications of the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory, 2020, 68–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.52526/25792776-2020.67.1-68.
Full textAbstract:
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced its Strategic Plan on Astronomy for Development in 2009, during the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). One of its main components was the creation of the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) and corresponding Regional Offices (ROADs) for implementation and coordination of its aims. The OAD was created in Cape Town, South Africa and later on ROADs were created in 11 regions. Since 2015, Armenia hosts one of them, IAU South West Asian (SWA), later renamed to South West and Central Asian (SWCA) ROAD. At present, already 6 countries have officially joined (Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkey), but the Office serves for a rather broad region, from Eastern Europe to Central Asia. Armenia's geographical location and its historical role in astronomy (both for well-known archaeoastronomical heritage and the presence of the famous Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO) founded by Viktor Ambartsumian in 1946) serve as a link between Europe and Eastern Partnership countries, Middle East and Asia in general. We run activities in 3 directions, Task Forces (TF): TF1 Universities and Research, TF2 Children and Schools and TF3 Public Outreach. We present our projects and all other accomplishments and discuss the role of our ROAD in maintaining contacts and development of astronomy in the region, as well as contacts between Europe and the Eastern Partnership countries. Most up-to-date information about the IAU SWCA ROAD is available on its webpage at http://iau-swa-road.aras.am/eng/index.php.
50
Buckley, Sean James, Chris J. Brauer, Peter J. Unmack, Michael P. Hammer, Mark Adams, Stephen J. Beatty, David L. Morgan, and Luciano B. Beheregaray. "Long-term climatic stability drives accumulation and maintenance of divergent freshwater fish lineages in a temperate biodiversity hotspot." Heredity, June 25, 2024. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41437-024-00700-6.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractAnthropogenic climate change is forecast to drive regional climate disruption and instability across the globe. These impacts are likely to be exacerbated within biodiversity hotspots, both due to the greater potential for species loss but also to the possibility that endemic lineages might not have experienced significant climatic variation in the past, limiting their evolutionary potential to respond to rapid climate change. We assessed the role of climatic stability on the accumulation and persistence of lineages in an obligate freshwater fish group endemic to the southwest Western Australia (SWWA) biodiversity hotspot. Using 19,426 genomic (ddRAD-seq) markers and species distribution modelling, we explored the phylogeographic history of western (Nannoperca vittata) and little (Nannoperca pygmaea) pygmy perches, assessing population divergence and phylogenetic relationships, delimiting species and estimating changes in species distributions from the Pliocene to 2100. We identified two deep phylogroups comprising three divergent clusters, which showed no historical connectivity since the Pliocene. We conservatively suggest these represent three isolated species with additional intraspecific structure within one widespread species. All lineages showed long-term patterns of isolation and persistence owing to climatic stability but with significant range contractions likely under future climate change. Our results highlighted the role of climatic stability in allowing the persistence of isolated lineages in the SWWA. This biodiversity hotspot is under compounding threat from ongoing climate change and habitat modification, which may further threaten previously undetected cryptic diversity across the region.