S2 Components Research Articles

Dynamical evolution timescales for the triple supermassive black hole system in NGC 6240

Aims. Based on the available observational data from the literature, we analysed the dynamics of the NGC 6240 galaxy central supermassive black hole (SMBH) system. Methods. For the dynamical modelling of this triple SBMH system, we used the massively parallel and GPU accelerated φ-GPU direct summation N-body code. Following a long-timescale modelling of the triple system, we carried out a very detailed time output analysis of the von Zeipel–Lidov–Kozai (ZLK) oscillations for the black holes. Results. According to our Newtonian simulation results, for all models and randomisations, the bound system from S1+S2 components formed at ≈3.6 Myr. The formation of the bound hierarchical triple system S+N occurred at ≈18 Myr. Over the course of these Newtonian simulations of the evolution of the triple SMBH system and the surrounding environment in NGC 6240, ZLK oscillations were detected (in most cases) for the binary components. The inclination angle between the orbital angular momentum of binary components aptly coincides with the theoretical calculations of the ZLK mechanism. Conclusions. In our set of randomised 15 Newtonian N-body dynamical galaxy models in 13 systems, we were able to detect a ZLK mechanism. In contrast, our extra few-body post-Newtonian runs (for one randomisation case) show it is only for the large inner binary initial eccentricity (in our case ≳0.9) that we are able to observe the possibility of the inner binary merging, due to the post-Newtonian energy radiation effects. For the lower eccentricity cases, the test runs show no sign of possible merging or any ZLK oscillations in the system.

An open-access simultaneous electrocardiogram and phonocardiogram database

Objective. The EPHNOGRAM project aimed to develop a low-cost, low-power device for simultaneous electrocardiogram (ECG) and phonocardiogram (PCG) recording, with additional channels for environmental audio to enhance PCG through active noise cancellation. The objective was to study multimodal electro-mechanical activities of the heart, offering insights into the differences and synergies between these modalities during various cardiac activity levels. Approach. We developed and tested several hardware prototypes of a simultaneous ECG-PCG acquisition device. Using this technology, we collected simultaneous ECG and PCG data from 24 healthy adults during different physical activities, including resting, walking, running, and stationary biking, in an indoor fitness center. The data were annotated using a robust software that we developed for detecting ECG R-peaks and PCG S1 and S2 components, and overseen by a human expert. We also developed machine learning models using ECG-based, PCG-based, and joint ECG-PCG features, like R–R and S1–S2 intervals, to classify physical activities and analyze electro-mechanical dynamics. Main results. The results show a significant coupling between ECG and PCG components, especially during high-intensity exercise. Notable micro-variations in S2-based heart rate show differences in the heart’s electrical and mechanical functions. The Lomb-Scargle periodogram and approximate entropy analyses confirm the higher volatility of S2-based heart rate compared to ECG-based heart rate. Correlation analysis shows stronger coupling between R–R and R-S1 intervals during high-intensity activities. Hybrid ECG-PCG features, like the R-S2 interval, were identified as more informative for physical activity classification through mRMR feature selection and SHAP value analysis. Significance. The EPHNOGRAM database, is available on PhysioNet. The database enhances our understanding of cardiac function, enabling future studies on the heart’s mechanical and electrical interrelationships. The results of this study can contribute to improved cardiac condition diagnoses. Additionally, the designed hardware has the potential for integration into wearable devices and the development of multimodal stress test technologies.

Age-related changes in the neural gating of respiratory sensations in humans.

Neural gating of respiratory sensations (NGRS) characterises the brain's ability to filter out repetitive respiratory sensory stimuli. This mechanism plays a crucial role in the neural processing of respiratory stimuli. However, whether ageing affects NGRS in healthy adults is still unclear. Therefore, we aimed to measure the effect of age on NGRS as well as the corresponding S1 and S2 components of the respiratory-related evoked potentials (RREPs). Three age groups of healthy adults participated in this study: a young group (YG; age 20-39 years), a middle-aged group (MG; age 40-59 years) and an old group (OG; age ≥60 years). NGRS was measured by the RREPs in the electroencephalogram in response to short-paired respiratory occlusion stimuli (S1 and S2). The S2/S1 ratio of the RREP N1 amplitude (the negative deflection of the RREP at ∼85-135 ms) was used to characterise NGRS. The results showed a significantly smaller N1 S2/S1 ratio in the YG than in the MG (p=0.01) and OG (p=0.03). Further analysis showed that the S1 N1 amplitude was larger for the YG compared with the MG (p=0.03) and OG (p=0.007). Moreover, age was significantly correlated with the N1 S2/S1 ratio (r=0.43), with higher age relating to higher N1 S2/S1 ratios. The greater N1 S2/S1 ratios observed in older adults suggest that ageing has a negative impact on the NGRS. This might contribute to increased experiences of respiratory sensations such as dyspnoea in ageing adults.

Radio jets in NGC 1068 with e-MERLIN and VLA: structure and morphology

ABSTRACT We present new high-sensitivity e-MERLIN and Very Large Array (VLA) radio images of the prototypical Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 at 5, 10, and 21 GHz. We image the radio jet, from the compact components north-east (NE), C, S1, and S2 to the faint double-lobed jet structure of the NE and south-west (SW) jet lobes. We map the jet between 15 kλ and 3300 kλ spatial scales by combining enhanced-Multi Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (e-MERLIN) and VLA data for the first time. Components NE, C, and S2 have steep spectra indicative of optically thin non-thermal emission domination between 5 and 21 GHz. Component S1, which is where the active galactic nucleus resides, has a flat radio spectrum. We report a new component, S2a, a part of the southern jet. We compare these new data with the MERLIN and VLA data observed in 1983, 1992, and 1995 and report a flux decrease by a factor of 2 in component C, suggesting variability of this jet component. With the high angular resolution e-MERLIN maps, we detect the bow shocks in the NE jet lobe that coincide with the molecular gas outflows observed with ALMA. The NE jet lobe has a jet power of $P_{\rm jet-NElobe}\, =\,$ 6.7 × 1042 erg s−1 and is considered to be responsible for driving out the dense molecular gas observed with ALMA around the same region.

Polarization image demosaicing and RGB image enhancement for a color polarization sparse focal plane array.

The color division of focal plane (DoFP) polarization sensor structure mostly uses Bayer filter and polarization filter superimposed on each other, which makes the polarization imaging unsatisfactory in terms of photon transmission rate and information fidelity. In order to obtain high-resolution polarization images and high-quality RGB images simultaneously, we simulate a sparse division of focal plane polarization sensor structure, and seek a sweet spot of the simultaneous distribution of the Bayer filter and the polarization filters to obtain both high-resolution polarization images and high-quality RGB images. In addition, From the perspective of sparse polarization sensor imaging, leaving aside the traditional idea of polarization intensity interpolation, we propose a new sparse Stokes vector completion method, in which the network structure avoids the introduction and amplification of noise during polarization information acquisition by mapping the S1 and S2 components directly. The sparsely polarimetric image demosaicing (Sparse-PDM) model is a progressive combined structure of RGB image artifact removal enhancement network and sparsely polarimetric image completion network, which aims to compensate sparsely polarimetric Stokes parameter images with the de-artifacts RGB image as a guide, thus achieving high-quality polarization information and RGB image acquisition. Qualitative and quantitative experimental results on both self-constructed and publicly available datasets prove the superiority of our method over state-of-the-art methods.

Tidal triggering of seismicity in the region of Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

This paper investigates the correlation between tidal stress and earthquakes for periods ranging from hours to months in the limited zone of the Palu region (Central Sulawesi, Indonesia). Through Schuster and binomial tests, we examined the relation between the seismicity (time density of seismic events) and tidal potential arising from the Moon and Sun, using all tidal components simultaneously and focusing on the estimation of specific terms. The results show significant correlations between the seismicity and tidal potential for S2 (0.5 d) and O1 (1.075 d) tidal components in the case of solely isolated earthquake events, particularly for shallow earthquakes. Meanwhile, there is a strong relationship between aftershocks and tidal components larger than the Mf period (13.661 d). Finally, the analysis of the temporal variation of the earthquake-tide relation reveals an optimal correlation for about six years before the 2018 great Palu earthquake. The correlation becomes insignificant afterwards.

The influence of pressure waves in tidal gravity records

For the reduction of atmospheric effects, observed gravity has initially been corrected by using the computed barometric admittance k of the in situ measured pressure, expressed in nms−2/hPa units and estimated by least squares method. However, the local pressure changes alone cannot account for the atmospheric mass attraction and loading when the coherent pressure field exceeds a specific size, i.e., with increasing periodicities. To overcome this difficulty, it is necessary to compute the total atmospheric effect at each station using the global pressure field. However, the direct subtraction of the total gravity effect, provided by the models of pressure correction, is not yet satisfactory for S2 and other tidal components, such as K2 and P1, which include solar heating pressure tides. This paper identifies the origin of the problem and presents strategies to obtain a satisfactory solution.First, we set up a difference vector between the tidal factors of M2 and S2 after correction of the pressure and ocean tides effects. This vector, hereafter denoted as RES, presents the advantage of being practically insensitive to calibration errors. The minimum discrepancy between the tidal parameters of M2 and S2 corresponds to the minimum of the RES vector norm d.Secondly we adopt the hybrid pressure correction method, separating the local and the global pressure contribution of the models and replacing the local contribution by the pressure measured at the station multiplied by an admittance kATM.We tested this procedure on 8 stations from the IGETS superconducting gravimeters network (former GGP network). For stations at an altitude lower than 1000 m, the value of dopt is always smaller than 0.0005. The discrepancy between the tidal parameters of the M2 and S2 waves is always lower than 0.05% on the amplitude factors and 0.025° on the phases. For these stations, a correlation exists between the altitude and the value kopt. The results at the three Central European stations Conrad, Pecny and Vienna are in excellent agreement (0.05%) with the DDW99NH model for all the main tidal waves.

Accuracy Assessment of Recent Global Ocean Tide Models Using Tide Gauge Measurements from the East Sea of Korea

Lee, J.-C. and Lee, D-H., 2023. Accuracy assessment of recent global ocean tide models using tide gauge measurements from the East Sea of Korea. Journal of Coastal Research, 39(2), 354–359. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. The continued rise in average sea level owing to climate change has intensified coastal damage worldwide. Therefore, various studies in the field of oceanography and hydrography including the development of ocean tidal prediction models are in progress. In this study, the accuracy of the recent ocean tide models using the long and short-term tide gauge measurements from seven tidal gauging stations and 10 tidal benchmarks at the coastal area in the East Sea of Korea was assessed. For this purpose, a total of five ocean tide models, DTU10, FES2014, OSU12, NAO99, and TPXO9 were used. The accuracy of the four major tidal components (M2, S2, K1, and O1) were assessed based on the same components determined from direct tide gauge measurements in east coastal area of Korea. The tide gauge measurements used in this study consisted of long-term observation data of over 1.7 years on average from seven permanent tide gauge stations and short-term observation data of about 6.6 months on average from 10 tidal benchmarks. Observation and determination of tidal components were performed by the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency. The accuracy of each ocean tide model was assessed by comparing the amplitude of four major components with those from tide gauge measurements for each location of tide gauge. The lowest accuracy of modelled component values was detected in the M2, S2, K1, and O1 tidal components of NAO99 model. On the contrary, FES2014 was the most accurate in M2, S2 tidal components and TPXO9 was most accurate in the K1, O1 tidal components in the East Sea of Korea.

Influence of Uniaxial Deformation on Texture Evolution and Anisotropy of 3104 Al Sheet with Different Initial Microstructure

Optimum mechanical behavior is achieved by means of controlling microstructural anisotropy. The latter is directly related to the crystallographic texture and is considerably affected by thermal and mechanical processes. Therefore, understanding the underlying mechanisms relating to its evolution during thermomechanical processing is of major importance. Towards that direction, an attempt to identify possible correlations among significant microstructural parameters relating to texture response during deformation was made. For this purpose, a 3104 aluminum alloy sheet sample (0.5 mm) was examined in the following states: (a) cold rolled (with 90% reduction), (b) recovered and (c) fully recrystallized. Texture, anisotropy as well as the mechanical properties of the samples from each condition were examined. Afterwards, samples were subjected to uniaxial loading (tensile testing) while the most deformed yet representative areas near the fractured surfaces were selected for further texture analysis. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) scans and respective measurements were conducted in all three tensile test directions (0°, 45° and 90° towards rolling direction (RD)) by means of which the evolution of the texture components, their correlation with the three selected directions as well as the resulting anisotropy were highlighted. In the case of the cold-rolled and the recovered sample, the total count of S2 and S3 components did not change prior to and after tensile testing at 0° towards RD; however, the S2 and S3 sum mostly consisted of S3 components after tensile testing whereas it mostly consisted of S2 components prior to tensile testing. In addition, the aforementioned state was accompanied by a strong brass component. The preservation of an increased amount of S components, and the presence of strain-free elongated grains along with the coexistence of a complex and resistant-to-crack-propagation substructure consisting of both high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) and subgrain boundaries (SGBs) led into an optimal combination of Δr and rm parameters.

High-Dimensional Mahalanobis Distances of Complex Random Vectors

In this paper, we investigate the asymptotic distributions of two types of Mahalanobis distance (MD): leave-one-out MD and classical MD with both Gaussian- and non-Gaussian-distributed complex random vectors, when the sample size n and the dimension of variables p increase under a fixed ratio c=p/n→∞. We investigate the distributional properties of complex MD when the random samples are independent, but not necessarily identically distributed. Some results regarding the F-matrix F=S2−1S1—the product of a sample covariance matrix S1 (from the independent variable array (be(Zi)1×n) with the inverse of another covariance matrix S2 (from the independent variable array (Zj≠i)p×n)—are used to develop the asymptotic distributions of MDs. We generalize the F-matrix results so that the independence between the two components S1 and S2 of the F-matrix is not required.

Receptor binding and priming of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 for membrane fusion.

Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is initiated by virus binding to the ACE2 cell-surface receptors1–4, followed by fusion of the virus and cell membranes to release the virus genome into the cell. Both receptor binding and membrane fusion activities are mediated by the virus spike glycoprotein5–7. As with other class-I membrane-fusion proteins, the spike protein is post-translationally cleaved, in this case by furin, into the S1 and S2 components that remain associated after cleavage8–10. Fusion activation after receptor binding is proposed to involve the exposure of a second proteolytic site (S2′), cleavage of which is required for the release of the fusion peptide11,12. Here we analyse the binding of ACE2 to the furin-cleaved form of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein using cryo-electron microscopy. We classify ten different molecular species, including the unbound, closed spike trimer, the fully open ACE2-bound trimer and dissociated monomeric S1 bound to ACE2. The ten structures describe ACE2-binding events that destabilize the spike trimer, progressively opening up, and out, the individual S1 components. The opening process reduces S1 contacts and unshields the trimeric S2 core, priming the protein for fusion activation and dissociation of ACE2-bound S1 monomers. The structures also reveal refolding of an S1 subdomain after ACE2 binding that disrupts interactions with S2, which involves Asp61413–15 and leads to the destabilization of the structure of S2 proximal to the secondary (S2′) cleavage site.

Robust Heart Sound Segmentation and Detection using biased Cramer-Rao Lower Bound Estimation and Variance Algorithm

Cardiac disorders are the most common infirmity suffered by the human race. Medical research states that worldwide almost 30% of the deaths are caused because of cardiovascular diseases. Even though many procedures such as Echocardiography, Carotid pulse and Electrocardiography are available, the conventional approach followed for detecting abnormalities are carried by hearing to the heart rhythms. This proposed study enables the health care physicians to diagnose pathologies of highly non-stationary heart sounds efficiently by using the second-order statistics of the signal. In this paper, a preprocessing methodology is used for removing noise caused by the lower frequency components and to focus only on the primary components S1 & S2, which are further feature extracted by using principal component analysis (PCA). A proposed variance algorithm (VA) is developed to identify the boundary locations of heart sounds and segment the featured signals into series of cardiac cycles. Further, we developed a modified variance algorithm (MVA) using biased Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) to estimate the heart sound (HS) signals that exhibit minimum variance and extract finer boundary locations of the signal components which helps in identifying S1 & S2 positions. When compared with PCA, VA and Shannon energy (SE) methods for the same dataset, the MVA scheme exhibits very low normalized mean square error (NMSE) in extracting boundary locations by -71.60±0.25 dB and achieves high cardiac cycle segmentation ratio of 97.78±0.98 %. A brief analysis of the results showed that the proposed MVA scheme using biased CRLB exhibits 97.4±1.2% accuracy in identifying S1 and S2 heart sounds.

Characterization of the anti-Staphylococcus aureus fraction from Penthorum chinense Pursh stems

BackgroundMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes serious infections in hospitals. Penthorum chinense Pursh (PCP), employed by the Miao ethnic minority in China, presents antibacterial activities. In this study, the anti-Staphylococcus aureus activities in the pinocembrin-7-O residue-rich fraction from PCP (PGF) were evaluated and characterized.MethodsThe PGF was prepared with 70% ethanol reflux extraction followed by fractional extraction and column chromatography. Pinocembrin-7-O residue components were identified with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Anti-S. aureus activities of the fraction and the main components were evaluated in vitro with serially diluted microbroth assays. Cytotoxicity was evaluated with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) chromogenic assays using the NCTC 1469 cell line.ResultsThis study indicated that the PGF and three components (S1, S2, and S3) presented anti-S. aureus activities, including against clinically isolated MRSA strains. The molecular masses of S1, S2, and S3 were identical to those of pinocembrin-7-O-[4″,6″-hexahydroxydiphenoyl (HHDP)]-β-D-glucose, pinocembrin-7-O-[3″-O-galloyl-4″,6″-(s)-HHDP]-β-D-glucose, and Thonningianin A, respectively. The PGF, S1, S2, and S3 all presented an identical minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against S. aureus ATCC 25923 and ATCC 43300, which was 62.5 μg/mL. The minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) of the PGF and S3 against ATCC 25923 were 125 and 250 μg/mL, and the MBCs of the PGF, S2, and S3 against ATCC 43300 were 250, 500, and 250 μg/mL, respectively. A time-kill assay consistently indicated that none of the bacterial clones of ATCC 25923 and ATCC 43300 could survive under 2× and 4× MIC PGF treatment for 24 h, respectively. In contrast, 104 CFU (colony-forming units) of ATCC 25923 and ATCC 43300 were killed by 8× and 4× MIC S3 within 24 h, respectively. Additionally, 1×, 2×, and 4× MIC the PGF presented similar postantibiotic effects (PAEs) on the strain ATCC 25923. However, the PAE of the PGF on the strain ATCC 43300 was concentration dependent (1× < 2× < 4× MIC). Finally, the PGF (200 μg/mL) and S3 (60 μg/mL) showed no cytotoxicity against human hepatoma cells.ConclusionsThe PGF and S3 from PCP present potential for the treatment of S. aureus and MRSA infections. The components S1 and S2 present inhibition activities against S. aureus.

Quantitative Analysis of an Intraoperative Digitalized Esophageal Heart Sound Signal to Speculate on Perturbed Cardiovascular Function.

Although visualization of heart sounds, known as phonocardiography, provides valuable information on cardiovascular hemodynamics, its use has not been widely encouraged due to the scarcity of information on its interpretation. In the present study, using the intraoperative phonocardiogram recorded by an esophageal stethoscope, we quantitatively evaluated the time and frequency domains of modulation of the heart sounds components and their association with left ventricular contractility and systemic vascular resistance under the effects of various cardiovascular drugs. We analyzed 29 pairs of intraoperative digitalized phonocardiographic signals and their corresponding hemodynamic data before and after cardiovascular drug administration (ephedrine, esmolol, phenylephrine, and/or nicardipine) in 17 patients who underwent liver transplantation. The S1 and S2 components of the heart sounds (the first and second heart sounds, respectively) were identified and their modulation in time and frequency domains was analyzed. As an index of cardiovascular function, systolic tissue Doppler wave velocity (TDI S’), maximal dP/dt from the arterial waveform, and systemic vascular resistance were simultaneously evaluated. Ephedrine/esmolol and phenylephrine/nicardipine primarily affected the S1 and S2 components of the heart sounds, respectively. This result implies that the intraoperative phonocardiogram may have the potential to be useful in detecting the changes in contractility and afterload that commonly occur in patients receiving anesthesia. In an era of constant need for noninvasive hemodynamic assessment, phonocardiography has the potential for use as a novel and informative tool for monitoring of hemodynamic function.

Investigation of the relationship between rock strain and radon concentration in the tidal frequency-range

Changes in the radon gas concentration can precede geodynamic processes associated with tectonic, volcanic activities and earthquakes. For this reason the relationship between rock strain and radon concentration is an important scientific issue to be answered. According to the complexity of the radon emanation process influenced by environmental effects, the interpretation of radon concentration variation as a possible precursor of geodynamic processes is not yet resolved unambiguously. The Sopronbánfalva Geodynamic Observatory in Hungary is one of the few places where radon concentration and rock strain variations are simultaneously monitored. The object of this study is to investigate the connection between indoor radon concentration and rock strain in the tidal frequency-range on the basis of seven-year long data series measured in years from 2009 till 2015. The relationship between rock deformation and radon concentration was investigated together with the temperature and barometric pressure effects. It was found that the strain induced radon concentration variations are in the order of 10–100 Bq nstr−1, while the concentration variations bear more considerable similarity and relation to the temperature and barometric variations. The theoretical tide at the location of the measurement site and tidal components computed from strain, radon concentration, barometric pressure and temperature data were compared with each other. Spectral and tidal analysis of data demonstrated that only the thermally induced solar components S1 and S2 are present in the radon concentration but their amplitudes hardly exceed the spectral noise level. The principal lunar semidiurnal M2 and diurnal O1 tidal waves cause the largest rock strain variations. The lack of the O1 and M2 constituents in the radon concentration confirms the fact that the detected S1 and S2 tidal components appear due to the barometric tide and the daily variations of the temperature and barometric pressure.

Characteristics of dissolved organic nitrogen in overlying water of typical lakes of Yunnan Plateau, China

In this study, Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV/Vis) and excitation-emission matrix fluorescence combined with parallel factor analysis (the EEM-PARAFAC model) were used for the characterization of the components and structure of the dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in the overlying water of three typical lakes from Yunnan Plateau, China. Four distinct components of Erhai Lake, three components of Chenghai Lake, and three components of Lugu Lake were identified by the PARAFAC model, based on fluorescence excitation-emission spectra. These included two terrestrial and marine humic-like components (E1 and E3) for Erhai Lake, one terrestrial and marine humic-like component (C1) for Chenghai Lake, and one autochthonous tryptophan-like component (L1) for Lugu Lake. The autochthonous tryptophan-like component S1 (E4, C2, and L3) and autochthonous tyrosine-like component S2 (E2, C3, and L2) were also identified. In addition, the S1 and S2 components were highly similar to one another and had almost identical extraction and emission wavelengths. Both S1 and S2 components were highly prevalent in plateau lakes but rarely appeared in plain lakes. Principal component analysis (PCA) found a great correlation between the S1 and S2 components in all studied lakes, indicating that they had a common source or the same variation trend. To be noted, we found that with the decrease of eutrophication level, relative abundance of S1 and S2 presented significance increase, the relative abundance of S1 and S2 components can be used as an indicator of lake trophic status in the Yunnan Plateau. Special attention should be given to these components with regard to plateau lake protection. PCA score analysis for the studied lakes found obvious quantitative and qualitative differences in the fluorescence components of different regions of Chenghai Lake. No significant discrepancy was found between Erhai Lake regions.

Sea-level rise impacts on the tides of the European Shelf

Sea-level rise (SLR) can modify not only total water levels, but also tidal dynamics. Several studies have investigated the effects of SLR on the tides of the western European continental shelf (mainly the M2 component). We further investigate this issue using a modelling-based approach, considering uniform SLR scenarios from −0.25m to +10m above present-day sea level. Assuming that coastal defenses are constructed along present-day shorelines, the patterns of change in high tide levels (annual maximum water level) are spatially similar, regardless of the magnitude of sea-level rise (i.e., the sign of the change remains the same, regardless of the SLR scenario) over most of the area (70%). Notable increases in high tide levels occur especially in the northern Irish Sea, the southern part of the North Sea and the German Bight, and decreases occur mainly in the western English Channel. These changes are generally proportional to SLR, as long as SLR remains smaller than 2m. Depending on the location, they can account for +/−15% of regional SLR. High tide levels and the M2 component exhibit slightly different patterns. Analysis of the 12 largest tidal components highlights the need to take into account at least the M2, S2, N2, M4, MS4 and MN4 components when investigating the effects of SLR on tides. Changes in high tide levels are much less proportional to SLR when flooding is allowed, in particular in the German Bight. However, some areas (e.g., the English Channel) are not very sensitive to this option, meaning that the effects of SLR would be predictable in these areas, even if future coastal defense strategies are ignored. Physically, SLR-induced tidal changes result from the competition between reductions in bed friction damping, changes in resonance properties and increased reflection at the coast, i.e., local and non-local processes. A preliminary estimate of tidal changes by 2100 under a plausible non-uniform SLR scenario (using the RCP4.5 scenario) is provided. Though the changes display similar patterns, the high water levels appear to be sensitive to the non-uniformity of SLR.

The threshold reduction of SRS in deuterium by multi-pass configuration

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in compressed D2 gas pumped with nanosecond laser radiation at 1064nm in a multi-pass configuration has been studied. The influence of D2 pressure and pass number on Raman thresholds and the conversion efficiencies for the first Stokes (S1) and second Stokes (S2) components has been investigated. It is shown that multi-pass configuration is very efficient for the substantial reducing of SRS thresholds for both S1 and S2 components and increasing their conversion efficiencies. In our work, the S1 threshold is approximately one order of magnitude lower than that reported in previous studies; the S1 conversion efficiency reached (56.1±4.4)% at pump energy of 33mJ. The lowest S2 threshold in the experiment is 15mJ (with a peak power of 3MW), and the S2 conversion efficiency reaches (32.9±3.8)%.

对每日和更短周期水头波动进行傅里叶分析来了解相互连接的地表水/地下水系统

The long-term monitoring records of hydraulic heads frequently contain fluctuations originating from different cyclic drivers. Fourier analysis applied to these records can reveal connected surface-water/groundwater system characteristics. The various components of the atmospheric tides, the earth tides and the presence of diurnal responses to evapotranspiration are identified and isolated through band-pass filtering of data recorded from both vented and absolute gauge transducers. The signature of the different cyclic drivers is contained in amplitude and phase of the various signal components and can be used to determine the degree of system confinement. A methodology is described for the calculation of barometric efficiency in confined aquifers based upon the amplitude of the M2 and S2 components of the earth and atmospheric tides. It is demonstrated that Fourier analysis of water-level fluctuations is a simple but underused tool that can help to characterise shallow groundwater systems.

Exploring embedding matrices and the entropy gradient for the segmentation of heart sounds in real noisy environments.

In this paper we explore a novel feature for the segmentation of heart sounds: the entropy gradient. We are motivated by the fact that auscultations in real environments are highly contaminated by noise and results reinforce our suspicions that the entropy gradient is not only robust to such noise but maintains a high sensitivity to the S1 and S2 components of the signal. Our whole approach consists of three stages, out of which the last two are novel contributions to this field. The first stage consists of typical pre-processing and wavelet reconstruction to obtain the Shannon energy envelogram. On the second stage we use an embedding matrix to track the dynamics of the system, which is formed by delay vectors with higher dimension than the corresponding attractor. On the third stage, we use the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the embedding matrix to estimate the entropy of the envelogram. Finite differences are used to estimate entropy gradients, in which standard peak picking approaches are used for heart sound segmentation. Experiments are performed on a public dataset of pediatric auscultations obtained in real environments and results show the promising potential of this novel feature for such noisy scenarios.