Application Of Mitigation Measures Research Articles

Risk-based management of international sporting events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mass gatherings include a diverse range of events such as sporting competitions, religious ceremonies, entertainment activities, political rallies and cultural celebrations, which have important implications for population well-being. However, if not managed properly, these events can amplify health risks including those related to communicable diseases, and place undue strain on health systems in host countries and potentially in attendees' home countries, upon their return. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the risk factors associated with mass gatherings and the effectiveness of applying mitigation measures during infectious disease emergencies. The pandemic has also allowed event organizers and health officials to identify best practices for mass gathering planning in host countries. To guide decisions about whether to hold, postpone, modify or cancel a mass gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization and its partners developed normative guidance and derivative tools promoting a risk-based approach to mass gathering planning. This approach involves three steps to guide decision-making around mass gatherings: risk evaluation, risk mitigation and risk communication. The approach was applied in the planning and execution of several mass gathering events, including the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Lessons identified from these large-scale international events offer insights into the planning and implementation of mass gathering events during a pandemic, and the broader impacts of such events on society. These lessons may also further inform and refine planning for future mass gatherings.

Potential for mitigating hurricane wind impact on informally-constructed homes in Puerto Rico under current and future climate scenarios

This study investigates the resilience of informally-constructed light-frame timber houses in Puerto Rico, a region where households with limited resources face significant risks from climate hazards, notably hurricanes. This study conducts a component-based, performance-based wind engineering assessment of informally-constructed house typologies, defined based on extensive fieldwork, under both existing and projected future climate conditions. Key findings highlight the effectiveness of certain mitigation strategies, such as reinforcing roof-to-wall connections, in significantly reducing the probability of failure. Fully-mitigated cases, which involve applying mitigation measures to the roof envelope, roof-to-wall connections, and shear walls, exhibited annual probabilities of failure that are much closer to, but do not necessarily meet, the threshold targeted by American building standards (i.e., ASCE 7). The results also show a dramatic increase in probability of failure of these houses projected by the adopted climate change model scenarios, driven by the increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes in Puerto Rico. Results from feedback from those working in the informal construction sector also identify challenges hindering the effective implementation of mitigation measures in Puerto Rican communities, including a lack of knowledge about how to implement the mitigation strategies and barriers related to real and perceived costs. Taken together these results underscore the urgent need for changes in building practices and revising building standards and suggesting potentially feasible mitigation strategies to improve those practices.

Harnessing market based mechanisms to improve water quality: Water quality trading policies in the river Alde, UK

Nitrogen fertiliser in agriculture continues to be one of the largest contributors to water pollution driven by the global food demand. Consequently, policies designed to tackle nitrogen pollution tend to be focused on the farm level. Applying mitigation measures requires knowledge, local labour and financial investment to achieve desired goals. Influencing farming activity comes with challenges as policies result in economic losses. We propose Water Quality Trading (WQT) to minimize the cost of controlling water pollution and develop it for policy recommendations in the River Alde catchment in Suffolk. We apply WQT to three scenarios named Reference Pollution Target, Livestock Target Plan and Variation of Farming. Our findings demonstrate that WQT can reduce farmers nitrogen load by 8%, 7% and 18% respectively from the baseline of 6 mg/L. The scenario simulations show a net revenue increase of 6%, 5% and 18% respectively. Our study demonstrates the effectiveness of the WQT approach in reducing water pollution, promoting sustainable agriculture and meeting water management goals.

Toward better targeting of mitigation measures for reducing phosphorus losses from land to water: Andrew Sharpley's legacy in Norway and Sweden.

Nordic agriculture faces big challenges to reduce phosphorus (P) loss from land to water for improving surface water quality. While understanding the processes controlling P loss and seeking for P mitigation measures, Norwegian and Swedish researchers have substantially benefited from and been inspired by Dr. Andrew Sharpley's career-long, high-standard P research. Here, we demonstrate how Sharpley and his research have helped the Nordic researchers to understand the role of cover crops in cold environmental conditions, best manure P management practices, and ditch processes. His work on critical source area (CSA) identification and site assessment tool development have also greatly inspired our thinking on the targeting of mitigation measures and the contextualizing tools for Nordic climate, landscape, and soils. While reflecting on Sharpley's legacy, we identify several needs for Norwegian and Swedish P research and management. These include (1) tackling the challenges caused by local/regional unevenness in livestock density and related manure management and farm P surpluses, (2) identifying CSAs of P loss with high erosion risk and high P surplus, (3) obtaining more high-resolution mapping of soils with low P sorption capacity both in the topsoil and subsoil, (4) improving cross-scale understanding of processes and mitigation measures and proper follow-up of applied mitigation measures, and (5) increasing collaborations of researchers with farmers and farmers' advisory groups and watershed groups by developing high-quality educational courses and extension materials. The needs should be addressed in the context of the challenges and opportunities created by climate change.

Stranded and floating marine debris detected along the coastline of Cabrera National Park (Balearic Islands)

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are managed to conserve ecosystems however increased reporting highlights the observations of marine debris within these areas. The coastline of Cabrera Natural Park (Cabrera MPA) was surveyed in February, March, May, and July of 2021 to evaluate the seasonal trend of marine debris between winter and summer months. A general value of 6.94 items/km, ranging from 4.38 ± 4.55 items/km in July to 12.57 ± 17.56 items/km in March, was detected with no statistical differences between areas or surveyed months. Abundance of stranded debris (77 %) was statistically higher than floating debris (23 %). Prevailed floating plastic pieces 2.5 >< 50 cm and stranded nets and pieces of nets >50 cm. Artificial polymer materials, non-sourced debris, and non-Single Use Plastics were the most common items identified. This study highlights the importance of applying mitigation measures to avoid the presence of marine debris in areas of ecological interest.

Risk Assessment and Source Apportionment of Metals on Atmospheric Particulate Matter in a Suburban Background Area of Gran Canaria (Spain).

Concentration levels of 11 heavy metals were analyzed in PM10 and PM2.5 samples from a suburban area frequently affected by Saharan dust in which is located a school. The heavy metals risk assessment was carried out by the 2011 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency method, estimating the chronic and carcinogenic hazard levels both in adults and children. The highest level of chronic hazard was reached for Cr, with values of approximately 8 (PM10, adulthood), 2 (PM10, childhood) and 1.5 (PM2.5, adult age), significantly exceeding the limit value (equal to 1). Regarding the carcinogenic risk level, it was also high for Cr, with values between 10-3 and 10-1 for both study populations and particle size. For the rest of the studied metals, no health risk levels of concern were obtained. The positive matrix factorization method was used for the estimation of heavy metal emission sources apportionment. Non-exhaust vehicle emissions were the main source of Cr emissions under PM2.5, while industrial processes were the main source for PM10. Mineral dust and marine aerosol were common emission sources for both particles sizes-with different contributions. Vehicle emissions, construction and agricultural activities were the main emission sources for PM10, and fossil fuel combustion, road dust re-suspension and ammonium sulfate were for PM2.5. The results obtained in this study support the need to continue applying mitigation measures in suburban areas which are affected by nearby anthropogenic emissions, causing the consequent emission of materials hazardous to human health.

VIBWAY: A user-friendly computational for the prediction of railway-induced ground-borne vibration and noise

This paper aims to introduce a computationally efficient and user-friendly toolbox, called VIBWAY, able to predict vibration and re-radiated noise levels in two situations. On the one hand, it can predict levels in existing buildings due to new lines or after the application of mitigation measures in existing ones. Thus, it can be used to assess the performance of vibration countermeasures applied at the track, vehicle and/or the building. On the other hand, it can predict levels in new buildings to be constructed close to an existing railway line. The VIBWAY toolbox is based on a non-interface 2.5D FEM-SBM approach for the wave propagation on the soil, on semi-analytical approaches for the track and the building and on multibody modelling of the train vehicle.

Shear Lag Effects on Pedestrian-Induced Vibration and TMD-Based Vibration Control of Footbridges

The shear lag effect (SLE) is one of the vital mechanical characteristics of structures with thin-walled box sections. While most existing studies of the SLE focus on the static response of footbridges, pedestrian-induced vibration deserves more attention since it represents the actual response of footbridges during their practical service process. A theoretical framework is proposed to consider the corresponding SLE. Firstly, the SLE on the natural frequencies of the structure can be considered with a reduction ratio to the corresponding case without considering the SLE. Results show it is more necessary to consider the SLE for footbridges with smaller span-width ratios, smaller section thickness-width ratios and lower height-width ratios. The SLE may result in significant reductions in the natural frequencies of the structures. These reductions in the predicted natural frequencies due to the SLE may further result in inaccuracy in the prediction of pedestrian-induced vibrations of footbridges. Furthermore, the most often applied mitigation measures may not be reliably designed. This may result in very significant reduction in the effectiveness of vibration mitigation measures. To consider the SLE on pedestrian-induced vibration and tuned-mass-damper-based vibration control of typical footbridges with thin-walled box sections, a simplified strategy is proposed.

COVIDHunter: COVID-19 Pandemic Wave Prediction and Mitigation via Seasonality Aware Modeling.

Early detection and isolation of COVID-19 patients are essential for successful implementation of mitigation strategies and eventually curbing the disease spread. With a limited number of daily COVID-19 tests performed in every country, simulating the COVID-19 spread along with the potential effect of each mitigation strategy currently remains one of the most effective ways in managing the healthcare system and guiding policy-makers. We introduce COVIDHunter, a flexible and accurate COVID-19 outbreak simulation model that evaluates the current mitigation measures that are applied to a region, predicts COVID-19 statistics (the daily number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths), and provides suggestions on what strength the upcoming mitigation measure should be. The key idea of COVIDHunter is to quantify the spread of COVID-19 in a geographical region by simulating the average number of new infections caused by an infected person considering the effect of external factors, such as environmental conditions (e.g., climate, temperature, humidity), different variants of concern, vaccination rate, and mitigation measures. Using Switzerland as a case study, COVIDHunter estimates that we are experiencing a deadly new wave that will peak on 26 January 2022, which is very similar in numbers to the wave we had in February 2020. The policy-makers have only one choice that is to increase the strength of the currently applied mitigation measures for 30 days. Unlike existing models, the COVIDHunter model accurately monitors and predicts the daily number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths due to COVID-19. Our model is flexible to configure and simple to modify for modeling different scenarios under different environmental conditions and mitigation measures. We release the source code of the COVIDHunter implementation at https://github.com/CMU-SAFARI/COVIDHunter and show how to flexibly configure our model for any scenario and easily extend it for different measures and conditions than we account for.

Coastal erosion risk assessment and applied mitigation measures at Ezbet Elborg village, Egyptian delta

Coastal areas globally suffer from serious erosion and sedimentation problems. The assessment of coastal erosion risk is fundamental for better coastal management. The main goal of the current study was to enhance coastal management by identifying the coastal erosion risk and suggest possible mitigation measures. The study was developed for the Egyptian Northern Coast. MIKE 21 was used to evaluate the erosion and test the proposed measures. First, a bathymetric survey of the study area was conducted. Then the tidal data, storm surge, and global sea rise data were collected. The offshore wave data, shoreline data were compiled. And then, the different nearshore wave modeling and wave propagation were modeled. The model was calibrated using measured data in 2014 and validated using measured data in 2016. Future shoreline changes for the years 2029, 2039, and 2049 were depicted. A suitable mitigation measure was used and tested for the same years. The groins with a specific size and arrangement were tested. The main goal of the study is to find a suitable solution to protect the coast and investigate its impact on the shoreline in the next 30 years. The proposed mitigation measure minimized the coastal erosion of the study area rigorously.

Evaluation of anthropogenic sinkhole susceptibility in the city of Naples (Italy) using a presence only algorithm

Sinkholes are widespread phenomena on Earth and represent a significant hazard to the population residing in areas affected by such events. They consist of vertical depressions with a three-dimensional funnel shape, often triggered by dissolution or erosion of geological materials. To define sinkholes susceptibility for the city of Naples (Italy), a presence-only Machine Learning technique, namely Maximum Entropy, has been applied to the study area. The result obtained consists of a sinkhole susceptibility map that highlights a relatively important extension (4.9%) of the most susceptible class which consolidates the necessity of studying such phenomena in an effort to help the government officials for selecting and applying mitigation measures and adaptation plan.

A network SIRX model for the spreading of COVID-19

Infectious diseases, such as the current COVID-19, have a huge economic and societal impact. The ability to model its transmission characteristics is critical to minimize its impact. In fact, predicting how fast an infection is spreading could be a major factor in deciding on the severity, extent and strictness of the applied mitigation measures, such as the recent lockdowns. Even though modelling epidemics is a well studied subject, usually models do not include quarantine or other social measures, such as those imposed in the recent pandemic. The current work builds upon a recent paper by Maier and Brockmann (2020), where a compartmental SIRX model was implemented. That model included social or individual behavioural changes during quarantine, by introducing state X, in which symptomatic quarantined individuals are not transmitting the infection anymore, and described well the transmission in the initial stages of the infection. The results of the model were applied to real data from several provinces in China, quite successfully. In our approach we use a Monte-Carlo simulation model on networks. Individuals are network nodes and the links are their contacts. We use a spreading mechanism from the initially infected nodes to their nearest neighbours, as has been done previously. Initially, we find the values of the rate constants (parameters) the same way as in Maier and Brockmann (2020) for the confirmed cases of a country, on a daily basis, as given by the Johns Hopkins University. We then use different types of networks (random Erdős–Rényi, Small World, and Barabási–Albert Scale-Free) with various characteristics in an effort to find the best fit with the real data for the same geographical regions as reported in Maier and Brockmann (2020). Our simulations show that the best fit comes with the Erdős–Rényi random networks. We then apply this method to several other countries, both for large-size countries, and small size ones. In all cases investigated we find the same result, i.e. best agreement for the evolution of the pandemic with time is for the Erdős–Rényi networks. Furthermore, our results indicate that the best fit occurs for a random network with an average degree of the order of 〈k〉≈ 10–25, for all countries tested. Scale Free and Small World networks fail to fit the real data convincingly.

The application of baffle block in mitigating TDGS of dams with different discharge patterns

Total dissolved gas supersaturation (TDGS) caused by high-dam discharge leads to gas-bubble trauma or even death in fish and has become an active research area because of global concern regarding this issue. It is important to use engineering measures to reduce the TDGS level to protect the fish habitat and water environment. As there are different mechanisms for TDGS generation by discharge, the application of mitigation measures needs to be investigated. In this study, three dams in which bottom flow, surface flow and trajectory jet used for energy dissipation were simulated to analyze the characteristics of TDGS generation and distribution. The simulated results show that the generation and distribution of TDGS is affected by bubble-water mass transfer. Consequently, a mitigation measure in which baffle blocks installed downstream of the spillway was proposed to change transport bubbles to low-pressure regions. The simulated results showed this engineering measure reduced TDGS by 5.2% and 13.1% for dams with bottom flow and trajectory jet, respectively. This study serves as a reference for the characteristics of TDGS generation and the design of TDGS mitigation measures.

Tool for Determination of Risk for Risk-Based Operation of Socio Cyber-Physical Systems. Applications in Engineering Education

The aim of risk management of socio-cyber-physical systems at operation is the integral safety which ensures their co-existence with their vicinity throughout their life cycles. On the basis of present knowledge and experience, part of risks that threaten socio-cyber-physical systems is coped by preven-tive measures during their designing and manufacturing. Due to dynamic changes of the world, the con-ditions of socio-cyber-physical systems at operations change. If changes exceed the socio-cyber-physical systems´ safety limits which were inserted into their designs, the accidents or socio-cyber-physical systems´ failures occur. The paper contains the Decision Support System for determination of risk rate of socio-cyber-physical systems. Its regular application shows present-day risk rate and allows to reveal danger situations and in time to apply mitigation measures. The methodology can find several applications in Education, especially in Engineering Education.

Tool for Determination of Risk for Risk-Based Operation of Socio-Cyber-Physical Systems

The aim of risk management of socio-cyber-physical systems at operation is the integral safety which ensures their co-existence with their vicinity throughout their life cycles. On the basis of present knowledge and experience, part of risks that threaten socio-cyber-physical systems is coped by preven-tive measures during their designing and manufacturing. Due to dynamic changes of the world, the con-ditions of socio-cyber-physical systems at operations change. If changes exceed the socio-cyber-physical systems´ safety limits which were inserted into their designs, the accidents or socio-cyber-physical systems´ failures occur. The paper contains the Decision Support System for determination of risk rate of socio-cyber-physical systems. Its regular application shows present-day risk rate and allows to reveal danger situations and in time to apply mitigation measures

Integration issues on tritium management of the European DEMO Breeding Blanket and ancillary systems

Within the EUROfusion framework, two reactor architectures are being developed as possible candidates for the EU DEMO. One is based on the Water Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL) Breeding Blanket (BB) concept and the other on the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) BB concept. The two DEMO variants result in completely different reactor and ancillary system designs due to the use of different coolants (i.e water or helium) as well as different neutron multipliers, tritium breeders, and carriers (i.e. PbLi for the WCLL and solid ceramic and beryllide with helium as a purge gas for the HCPB). As a consequence, the definition of the tritium management systems for the extraction and the control of inventories and environmental releases also needs to be tuned for each variant. Furthermore, dedicated technologies for tritium extraction and removal must be developed and specific working points for the two architectures must be defined. It is, therefore, necessary to rely on holistic approaches for the analysis of tritium management issues of the BB, its ancillary systems and fueling systems. In this work, an overview of the tritium permeation issues and the applied mitigation measures (e.g. permeation barriers) are described. Furthermore, design limits given by tritium extraction technologies as well as experimental campaigns (e.g. determination of the Sieverts’ constant of tritium in PbLi at DEMO relevant temperatures) to substantiate the modelling approach are also reported. Finally, the impact on the fueling system due to the tritium inventories sequestered in the BB and other systems is described, providing information on the doubling time and initial tritium inventories for a given tritium breeding ratio.

Supporting non-target arthropods in agroecosystems: Modelling effects of insecticides and landscape structure on carabids in agricultural landscapes

Intensification of agricultural practices is one of the most important drivers of the dramatic decline of arthropod species. We do not know, however, the relative contribution to decline of different anthropogenic stressors that are part of this process. We used high-resolution dynamic landscape models and advanced spatially-explicit population modelling to estimate the relative importance of insecticide use and landscape structure for population dynamics of a widespread carabid beetle Bembidion lampros. The effects of in-crop mitigation measures through the application of insecticides with reduced lethality, and off-crop mitigation measures by increasing abundance of grassy field margins, were evaluated for the beetle along the gradient of landscape heterogeneity. Reducing the insecticide-driven lethality (from 90 to 10%) had larger positive impacts on beetle density and occupancy than increasing the abundance of field margins in a landscape. The effects of increasing field margins depended on their width and overall abundance in the landscape, but only field margins 4 m wide, applied to at least 40% of fields, resulted in an increase in beetle population density comparable to the scenario with the smallest reduction of insecticide-driven lethality we considered. Our findings suggest the importance of field margins rather as a supporting not stand-alone mitigation measure, as they generally improved effects of reduction of insecticide-driven lethality. Therefore, adding sufficiently broad off-field habitats should help to maintain viable beetle populations in agricultural landscapes even with moderate use of insecticides. In general, the less persistent the insecticides are in the environment, the larger positive impacts of applied mitigation measures on beetle populations were found. We also showed that the effectiveness of applied mitigation measures strongly depends on landscape and farmland heterogeneity. Thus, to achieve the same management or mitigation target in different landscapes might require different strategies.

Analysis of historical data for a better understanding of post‐construction landslides at an artificial waterway

With growing urbanization, an increasing number of landslides worldwide are linked to construction works, especially along transportation routes. To get a better understanding of these post‐construction landslides at artificial waterways, archive studies have been conducted, in addition to analysis of historical scientific literature and technical reports. The resultant database is used to describe the occurrence and the characteristics of the landslides at the Mittelland Canal, and to evaluate aspects of conditioning and preparatory factors, potential triggers and applied mitigation measures. The Mittelland Canal has been chosen because it is one of the most important artificial waterways in Europe, and the high number of landslides that occur there is unique. In particular, landslides at the Mittelland Canal were frequently reported in the first half of the 20th century. The susceptibility to landslides is strongly influenced by material characteristics, as a large number of landslides is linked to sites where fine‐grained mudstone is abundant, which quickly decomposes under immersion in water or under dynamic stress. In addition, landslides can be linked to the creation of over‐steepened slopes. Construction works can also be considered another preparatory factor for landslides. In addition, some landslides in World War II appear to be connected to the blast of aerial bombings. Precipitation seems to play a minor role in triggering landslides. The applied mitigation measures were developed recently, marking the importance of the canal as a transportation route. © 2020 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Water Stress Mitigation in the Vit River Basin Based on WEAP and MatLab Simulation

The presented study aims at the development of an approach, which will enable selection of optimal measures for mitigation of water stress. The approach is based on two software pillars – Water Evaluation and Planning System (WEAP) and MatLab, which are applied in combination. The approach has three main steps: 1) modeling of the river basin with WEAP software 2) selecting mitigation measures and preparation of intervention curves and 3) running of an optimization using MatLab to select the mitigation measures. The set of the applied mitigation measures includes: reducing urban water demand and supply, reducing water demand for irrigation, and rehabilitation of the irrigation system. The result of the performed optimization with objectives set as minimal investment and water abstraction shows that in the Vit River basin the best combination of mitigation measures are a change in irrigation practice as well as reducing leakage in the irrigation distribution network and in the municipal distribution network. The optimization results show that 36% of the abstracted water could be saved if 2.1 million EUR were invested. The approach which was developed and applied in this work proved its suitability for facilitating decision making for water stress management at a river basin level. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2020-03091602 Full Text: PDF

Native Growth and Conservation of Duckweed (Lemnaceae) in Jordan

Duckweeds are the world's smallest flowering plants. Its existence is affected by the water quality and availability. The increased water demand and water scarcity in most of the Mediterranean countries as Jordan have caused remarkable lowering in the water-table which reduced floods and disappearance of the seasonal lakes. Due to this, aquatic plants that grow on good quality of fresh water have disappeared totally. Therefore, this paper highlights the native growth and conservation of duckweed (Lemnaceae) in Jordan. It also focuses on the identification of water sources for duckweed's movement. Field surveys were conducted to identify water source for water bodies that contain duckweeds. These surveys included visits to the Zarqa river, dams, irrigation ponds and Jordan valley. The source of water for duckweed movement and availability was determined. Water samples from the targeted areas were analyzed for selected parameters as pH, EC, NO3, PO4, BOD5, Zn, Pb, Cd and Cu. The results showed that King Abdullah Canal and Zarqa river are the water sources that encourage the duckweeds growth. In Sukhnah, Jerash and Jordan valley areas, water analysis ranges (mg L-1) are: NO3 0.7-38, PO4 0.3-7.6 and BOD5 0-20. The pH range value is 7.1-8.1 and EC range value is 1.62-2.5 mS cm-1.The heavy metals values are, Zn is <0.02 mg L-1, Pb is <0.01 mg L-1, Cd is <0.002 mg L-1 and Cu is <0.01 mg L-1. It can be concluded that mitigation measures are highly needed to overcome and altering the quality of the natural water flowing and participation of governmental institutions is also required for the success of applying mitigation measures to preserve the aquatic plants.