Critical Stream Research Articles

Critically studying openness: A way forward

Critically studying openness: A way forward

Drought intensification alters the composition, body size, and trophic structure of invertebrate assemblages in a stream mesocosm experiment

Abstract Predicted trends towards more intense droughts are of particular significance for running water ecosystems, as the loss of critical stream habitat can provoke sudden changes in biodiversity and shifts in community structure. However, analysing ecological responses to the progressive loss of stream habitat requires a continuous disturbance gradient that can only be generated through large‐scale manipulations of streamflow. In the first experiment of its kind, we used large artificial stream channels (mesocosms) as analogues of spring‐fed headwaters and simulated a gradient of drought intensity that encompassed flowing streams, disconnected pools, and dry streambeds. We used breakpoint analysis to analyse macroinvertebrate community responses to intensifying drought, and identify the taxa and compositional metrics sensitive to small changes in drought stress. We detected breakpoints for >60% of taxa, signalling sudden population crashes or irruptions as drought intensified. Abrupt changes were most pronounced where riffle dewatering isolated pools. In the remnant wetted habitat, we observed a shift to larger body sizes across the community, primarily driven by irruptions of predatory midge larvae and coincident population collapses among prey species (worms and smaller midges). Our results suggest that intense predation in confined, fragmented stream habitat can lead to unexpected changes in body sizes, challenging the conventional wisdom that droughts favour the small. Pool fragmentation might thus be the most critical stage of habitat loss during future droughts, as the point at which impacted rivers and streams begin to exhibit major shifts in fundamental food web properties.

砾石对红壤工程堆积体边坡径流产沙的影响

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 砾石对红壤工程堆积体边坡径流产沙的影响 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201805301191 作者: 作者单位: 西北农林科技大学水土保持研究所,中国科学院水利部水土保持研究所 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家重点研发计划项目资助（2016YFC0501604）；国家自然科学基金项目（40771127，41761062）；科技基础性工作专项（2014FY210100） Effects of gravel on runoff and sediment yield of red soil engineering accumulation slopes Author: Affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Erosion and Dryland Agriculture on the Loess Plateaus，Institute of Soil and Water Conservation，Northwest A&F University,State Key Laboratory of Erosion and Dryland Agriculture on the Loess Plateaus，Institute of Soil and Water Conservation，Northwest A&F University Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:为探究砾石对红壤工程堆积体边坡降雨侵蚀的影响，基于室内模拟降雨试验，在1.0、1.5、2.0、2.5 mm/min雨强条件下，以土质边坡为对照，研究了10%、20%和30%的砾石质量分数红壤工程堆积体边坡的径流特征、产沙过程及侵蚀动力机制。结果表明：1）砾石质量分数对稳定径流强度的影响存在阈值，在雨强 > 1.0 mm/min时稳定径流强度随砾石质量分数的增加先减小后增大，在1.0 mm/min雨强时则表现为先增大后减小，且均在10%砾石质量分数下达到极值；2）雨强1.0 mm/min时，径流为缓流，砾石促进径流流动，使弗汝德数增大24.5%-87.8%，雨强2.0、2.5 mm/min时，径流为急流，砾石延缓径流流动，使弗汝德数降低4.2%-13.0%；3）侵蚀速率随产流历时变化过程受砾石质量分数和雨强的影响，雨强越大，砾石质量分数越低，边坡越易发生细沟侵蚀且伴随重力崩塌现象，侵蚀速率呈多峰多谷变化趋势；4）1.0 mm/min雨强时，砾石存在加剧了土壤侵蚀，产沙增幅达28.7%-50.5%；雨强 > 1.0 mm/min时，砾石减沙效益为5.0%-64.4%；5）径流功率是描述红壤工程堆积体侵蚀动力机制最优参数，其可蚀性参数及发生侵蚀临界径流功率从大到小对应的砾石质量分数均为10%、0、20%和30%。研究成果可为红壤区开发建设项目水土流失治理及侵蚀预测模型提供科学依据。 Abstract:Engineering accumulation slopes, a special geomorphological unit resulting from human disturbances, are characterized by a large slope gradient, lacking soil organic matter, and loose surface structure, which drives the engineering accumulation body to be prone to intensive soil erosion under heavy rainfall. To explore the effect of gravel on rainfall erosion occurring on red soil engineering accumulation slopes, a series of indoor simulated rainfall experiments were conducted to investigate the runoff characteristics, sediment yielding processes, and erosion dynamic mechanisms of red soil engineering accumulation slopes with different gravel mass fractions (0, 10%, 20%, and 30%) under different rainfall intensities (1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 mm/min). The results showed that:1) the stable runoff intensity varied as a decreased-increased tendency with gravel mass fraction increasing under the rainfall intensity higher than 1.0 mm/min, whereas it varied as an increased-decreased tendency under 1.0 mm/min rainfall intensity, and both reached extreme values at 10% gravel mass fraction (maximal value or minimal value). 2) Under 1.0 mm/min rainfall intensity, runoff flowed in the regime of subcritical flow during the whole test. The Freund number increased by 24.5%-87.8% because of the existence of gravel, and the gravel promoted the runoff to flow. However, under 2.0 and 2.5 mm/min rainfall intensity, runoff flowed in the regime of supercritical flow. The Freund number was reduced by 4.2%-13.0% because of the existence of gravel, and the gravel slowed down the runoff flow. 3) The erosion rate variation during the rainfall test was affected by the gravel mass fraction and rain intensity. Red soil engineering accumulation slopes became more vulnerable to rill erosion and gravity collapse under higher rainfall intensities and lower gravel mass fractions, resulting in multi-peaks and multi-valleys in the erosion rates.4) Under 1.0 mm/min rainfall intensity, the gravel exacerbated soil erosion with the erosion rate increasing by 28.7%-50.5%. On the contrary, the gravel retarded soil erosion with the erosion rate decreasing by 5.0%-64.4% under rainfall intensity higher than 1.0 mm/min. 5) The stream power could serve as the optimal parameter for describing the hydrodynamic process of the red soil engineering accumulation slopes. The values of erodibility-related parameters and the critical stream power values ranged from large to the small corresponding with the gravel mass fraction being 10%, 0%, 20%, and 30%, respectively. The results may provide a scientific basis for soil erosion control and erosion modelling for the red soil engineering accumulation slopes. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

PERPADUAN NILAI DAKWAH DAN ESTETIKA DALAM NOVEL KAMBING DAN HUJAN KARYA MAHFUD IKHWAN

<p><em>The growth of islamic literature keeps a problem. For some critics, many works of fiction labeled "islamic literature" are problematic in terms of writing techniques and the value of aesthetic. Amidst the stream of criticism that highlighted the weaknesses of islamic literary products, emerged several literary works, which although not specifically labeled "islamic literature", contained symbols and islamic moral teachings that won prestigious literary awards. One of them is the novel </em>Kambing dan Hujan<em> by Mahfud Ikhwan. Using Robert Stanton's structural analysis approach, this article intends to describe how the values of da'wah and aesthetic values are combined in the novel </em>Kambing and Hujan<em>. Based on the analysis, two conclusions were drawn. </em>First<em>, the novel </em>Kambing dan Hujan<em> has structural density. Every intrinsic element is interrelated in harmony. </em>Second<em>, the novel </em>Kambing and Hujan<em> succeeded in combining aesthetic values (marked by structural density and harmony between elements) with the value of da'wah (which was marked by the existence of the content of Islamic teachings in it).</em></p><p> </p>

Effect of naturally restored grassland on the ephemeral gully erosion in the loess hilly and gully region.

Ephemeral gully erosion is an important erosion type in hilly and gully regions of Loess Plateau. While previous studies mainly focused on ephemeral gullies in agricultural land, little is known about the effects of naturally restored grassland on ephemeral gully erosion. In this study, taking the bare ephemeral gullies as the baseline, we conducted in-situ flushing tests to explore runoff and sediment yield characteristics and erosion mechanism of grassland ephemeral gullies under the runoff conditions of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 L·min-1. Compared to the bare ephemeral gully, average flow velocity, stable runoff rate, Reynolds number and Froude number of grassland ephe-meral gullies was reduced by 25.4%-67.3%, 8.4%-26.6%, 54.9%-80.5%, 18.6%-65.1%, respectively, whereas resistance coefficient was increased by 0.09-7.18 folds. Compared to the bare ephemeral gully, the maximum sediment yield rate, stable sediment yield rate, average sediment yield rate of grassland ephemeral gullies was decreased by 55.1%-90.9%, 61.8%-95.4%, and 64.8%-92.4%, respectively. The sediment yield reduction benefit of the naturally restored grassland under the discharge flow rate of 5-25 L·min-1 could reach 65.9%-88.8%, which decreased with increasing discharge flow rate. Compared to the bare ephemeral gully, average stream power and average shear stress of grassland ephemeral gullies was reduced by 54.9%-80.5% and 12.4%-51.1%, respectively, whereas the critical stream power and critical shear stress was increased by 1.43 folds and 33.7%, respectively. The average sediment yield of grassland and bare ephemeral gullies was signifi-cantly linearly related to average stream power and shear stress. Naturally restored grassland significantly increased the erosion resistance and reduced runoff erosion potential of ephemeral gullies.

No End to Anthony

Who are the great British writers of the twentieth century? Most of the names you are thinking of are probably from before the Second World War. We have a label for them – the ‘modernists’ – and a shared explanation of why they were important and what they meant. The second half of the twentieth century is more difficult. Various interpretations are still in conflict. Legacies are still in play, yet to be fixed by narrative. Even a Nobel Prize is no guarantee of durability, as the slow disappearance of V. S. Naipaul from university reading lists testifies. No, quality is not enough. To become a great one’s greatness must also be explainable. I have always felt Anthony Burgess to be in the running in the race to become one of the last century’s Great British Writers, if perhaps with only an outside chance. He is certainly prolific, with thirty-three novels to his name alongside a seemingly endless stream of journalism, poetry, and criticism. A Clockwork Orange (1962) brought him fame, and Earthly Powers (1980) established him as a writer of excellence. But there are other Burgesses besides the one portrayed in his Wikipedia overview. His sympathetic representation of local life in The Malayan Trilogy (1956–9) is still celebrated in Malaysia and Singapore (p. 13). Joyce scholars still consider his studies Here Comes Everybody (1965) and Joysprick (1973) to be set texts in the area. His musical compositions, of which over 250 survive, are celebrated in Italy, France, and, increasingly, America, even if the Brits still aren’t receptive (p. 14). My own granddad was shocked to learn that Burgess wrote novels: Burgess had appeared so often on TV shows he’d presumed he was a professional TV personality.

Rill erosion processes on a steep colluvial deposit slope under heavy rainfall in flume experiments with artificial rain

Understanding rill erosion processes is important in the prediction of soil erosion and the prevention of soil loss. However, limited information is available concerning the impacts of rainfall on rill erosion on steep slopes. Colluvial deposits with steep slopes make up the packed material underlying the collapsing walls in benggang, which collapse due to hydraulic pressure and gravity. They contain loose materials and large amounts of coarse particles. The objectives of this study were to investigate the impacts of rainfall intensity and slope gradient on the rill erosion process, rill development and rill flow dynamic mechanisms on the steep slopes of colluvial deposits. The colluvial soils were subjected to simulated rainfall in a 5-m2 (5-m by 1-m) flume at heavy rainfall intensities (100, 120, and 140 mm h−1) and on five steep slopes (20, 25, 30, 35, and 40°). Rill erosion contributed significantly to colluvial slope erosion; on average, rills accounted for 61% of the soil loss, and the effects of slope gradient were greater than those of the rainfall intensity. After rill development, rill density, rill length, width, and depth all significantly increased. Correspondingly, the soil loss rate sharply raised and irregularly fluctuated. Moreover, the collapse of rill heads or sidewalls tended to increase the relative contribution to rill erosion and rill development. The rill flow was characterized by transitional and subcritical flow regimes. The rill flow velocity was the most sensitive hydraulic parameter, and the unit stream power provided the optimal hydrodynamic parameter to characterize the dynamic mechanisms of rill erosion on colluvial deposits. The collapse of rill heads or sidewalls could result in negative values for critical shear stress, critical stream power, and critical unit stream power of rill erosion, which were −19 Pa, −5.3 N m−1 s−1, and −0.09 m s−1, respectively. These results provide a better understanding of the mechanism of rill erosion on steep slopes.

Integrated Safety and Process Optimization Approach for Ammonia Synthesis Loop

Among the process safety strategies, inherent safety, proposed by Kletz, has been widely accepted and applied for the preliminary design of chemical processes. Process optimization with safety aspect has usually focused on accident costs rather than risk. Additionally, the significance of inherent assessment for process optimization has been overlooked. Simultaneous optimization of risk with inherent safety and process economics can be more impactful in practical process designs. Therefore, a new methodology is consolidated in this paper, such that an external risk and process economics model is coupled with HYSYS to achieve an optimized process design. Here, process stream index (PSI) has been suggested to identify the critical process streams. For identified critical process streams, risk analysis and process economics are studied. Risk estimation and process economics parameters are studied in an external model by extracting information from HYSYS through VBA coding. For unacceptable risk, minimization guide word is used to improve the performance of critical streams. With inherent safety implementation, process economics is also found to be improved, as 3.2 less energy would be required without any significant change in ammonia product quantity. This approach would serve to deal safety with process attributes as multi-objective optimization method of process design. © Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Malaysia.

Behavior and Reproductive Ecology of the Sicklefin Redhorse: An Imperiled Southern Appalachian Mountain Fish

AbstractMany nongame fishes are poorly understood but are essential to maintaining healthy aquatic ecosystems globally. The undescribed Sicklefin Redhorse Moxostoma sp. is a rare, imperiled, nongame fish endemic to two southern Appalachian Mountain river basins. Little is known of its behavior and ecology, but this information is urgently needed for conservation planning. We assessed the spatial and temporal bounds of spawning migration, quantified seasonal weekly movement patterns, and characterized seasonal and spawning behavior using radiotelemetry and weir sampling in the Hiwassee River basin, North Carolina–Georgia, during 2006 and 2007. Hiwassee River tributaries were occupied predominantly during the fish's spawning season, lower reaches of the tributaries and the Hiwassee River were primarily occupied during the postspawning season (i.e., summer and fall), and lower lotic reaches of Hiwassee River (upstream from Hiwassee Lake) were occupied during winter. Adults occupied Hiwassee Lake only as a movement corridor during spawning migrations. Both sexes conducted upstream spawning migrations simultaneously, but males occupied spawning tributaries longer than females. Sicklefin Redhorse exhibited interannual spawning‐area and tributary fidelity. Cold water temperatures associated with hypolimnetic releases from reservoirs and meteorological conditions influenced spawning migration distance and timing. During 2007, decreased discharges during the spawning season were associated with decreases in migration distance and spawning tributary occupancy duration. Foraging was the dominant behavior observed annually, followed by reproductive behaviors (courting and spawning) during the spawning season. No agonistic reproductive behavior was observed, but females exhibited a repetitious postspawning digging behavior that may be unique in the family Catostomidae. Our findings suggest that protection and restoration of river continuity, natural flow regimes, seasonally appropriate water temperatures, and geographic range expansion are critical components to include in Sicklefin Redhorse conservation planning. Fisheries and ecosystem managers can use our findings to justify sensitive management decisions that conserve and restore critical streams and rivers occupied by this imperiled species.

Flexibility Assessment of Heat Exchanger Networks: From a Thorough Data Extraction to Robustness Evaluation

Due to process variabilities and operational modifications, operating parameters of Heat Exchanger Network (HEN) may alter its output temperatures. Nevertheless, the impact of these disturbances depends largely on the topology of the HEN. As a consequence, it can be relevant to evaluate the flexibility of a HEN after its synthesis. Flexibility of a HEN refers to the ability of a system to operate at a finite number of set points. In this framework, the implementation of this property is broken down into several aspects. In this contribution, the first level of flexibility concerning the robustness (ability of the system to absorb disturbances without changing utility flowrates) is addressed and compared to other contribution, this criterion is not formulated as a generic one but as a criterion that strongly depends on the studied process. As a consequence, to evaluate its value, the first step is to perform an enhanced data collection by identifying the most frequent disturbances and by pointing out the critical streams i.e. the streams whose output temperature absolutely needs to be kept into a strict interval; then, given this information, a robustness criterion can be formulated for a given HEN. In this paper, a methodology relying on several models is developed to address this issue: a Mass Equilibrium Summation enthalpy non-linear model (MESH) dedicated to the enhanced data collection, a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model used for the HEN synthesis and finally a linear model developed for the modeling of the HEN response to disturbances. This methodology is first illustrated through a basic academic example and finally applied to an industrial case study.

Evaluation of water‐use policies for baseflow recovery during droughts in an agricultural intensive karst watershed: Case study of the lower Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin, southeastern United States

AbstractThe lower Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin in the Southeast United States represents a major agricultural area underlain by the highly productive karstic Upper Floridan aquifer (UFA). During El Niño Southern Oscillation‐induced droughts, intense groundwater withdrawal for irrigation lowers streamflow in the Flint River due to its hydraulic connectivity with the UFA and threatens the habitat of the federally listed and endangered aquatic biota. This study assessed the compounding hydrologic effects of increased irrigation pumping during drought years (2010–2012) on stream–aquifer water exchange (stream–aquifer flux) between the Flint River and UFA using the United States Geological Survey modular finite element groundwater flow model. Principal component and K‐means clustering analyses were used to identify critical stream reaches and tributaries that are adversely affected by irrigation pumping. Additionally, the effectiveness of possible water restriction scenarios on stream–aquifer flux was also analysed. Moreover, a cost–benefit analysis of acreage buyout procedure was conducted for various water restriction scenarios. Results indicate that increased groundwater withdrawal in Water Year 2011 decreased baseflow in the lower Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin, particularly, in Spring Creek, where irrigation pumping during April, June, and July changed the creek condition from a gaining to losing stream. Results from sensitivity analysis and simulated water restrictions suggest that reducing pumping in selected sensitive areas is more effective in streamflow recovery (approximately 78%) than is reducing irrigation intensity by a prescribed percentage of current pumping rates, such as 15% or 30%, throughout the basin. Moreover, analysis of acreage buyout indicates that restrictions on irrigation withdrawal can have significant impacts on stream–aquifer flux in the Basin, especially in critical watersheds such as Spring and Ichawaynochaway Creeks. The proposed procedure for ranking of stream reaches (sensitivity analysis) in this study can be replicated in other study areas/models. This study provides useful information to policymakers for devising alternate irrigation water withdrawal policies during droughts for maintaining flow levels in the study area.

Impact of lateral flow on the transition from connected to disconnected stream–aquifer systems

Understanding the mechanisms by which stream water infiltrates through streambeds to recharge groundwater systems is essential to sustainable management of scarce water resources in arid and semi-arid areas. An inverted water table (IWT) can develop under a stream in response to the desaturation between the stream and underlying aquifer as the system changes from a connected to disconnected status. However, previous studies have suggested that the IWT can only occur at the bottom of a low permeability streambed in which only the vertical flow between the stream and groundwater during disconnection was assumed. In the present study, numerical simulations revealed that the lateral flow induced by capillarity or heterogeneity also plays an essential role on interactions between streams and aquifers. Three pathways were identified for the transition from connection to disconnection in homogenous systems; notably, the lowest point of an IWT can develop not only at the bottom of the streambed but also within the streambed or the aquifer in response to the initial desaturation at, above, or below the interface between the streambed and aquifer (IBSA), respectively. A sensitivity analysis indicated that in wide streams, the lowest point of an IWT only occurs at the bottom of the streambed; however, for a stream half width of 1m above a 6m thick sandy loam streambed, the lowest point occurs in the streambed as stream depth is less than 0.5m. This critical stream depth increases with streambed thickness and decreases with stream width. Thus, in narrow streams the lowest point can also develop in a thick streambed under a shallow stream. In narrow streams, the lowest point also forms in the aquifer if the ratio of the hydraulic conductivity of the streambed to that of the aquifer is greater than the ratio of the streambed thickness to the sum of the stream depth and the streambed thickness; correspondingly, the streambed is thin but relatively permeable and the stream is deep. Furthermore, in heterogeneous streambed systems, two or three pathways can simultaneously occur and various parts of the IWT occur at distinct positions relative to the IBSA. This challenges the commonly held assumption that streambed under a disconnected stream is always fully saturated, and limits the methods which introduce a negative or atmospheric pressure value at the IBSA to calculate seepage rate or assess stream-aquifer connectivity.

School Discipline Disparity: Converging Efforts for Better Student Outcomes

School policies and practices have historically lent themselves to disproportionate suspension and expulsion rates based on students’ race, gender, and disability. The disparity between racial minorities, particularly Black males, and their White peers has generated concern from various stakeholders. Using Kingdon’s (Agendas, alternatives, and public policies. Addison-Westley Educational Publishers, New York, 2003) window of opportunity framework, the purpose of this conceptual article is to spotlight the potential convergence of efforts hence creating an opportunity for school discipline reform to gain momentum. Kingdon’s three critical streams for problem solving, i.e., the problem, political, and policy, are each examined in the context of the pervasive school discipline disproportionality.

Sodicity effects on hydrological processes of sodic soil slopes under simulated rainfall

AbstractSoil salinization can occur in many regions of the world. Soil sodicity affects rainfall‐runoff relationships and related erosion processes considerably. We investigated sodicity effects on infiltration, runoff and erosion processes on sodic soil slopes for two soils from China under simulated rainfall. Five sodicity levels were established in a silt loam and a silty clay with clay contents of 8.5% and 46.0%, respectively. The soils, packed in 50 cm × 30 cm × 15 cm flumes at two slope gradients (22° and 35°), were exposed to 60 min of simulated rainfall (deionized water) at a constant intensity of 125 mm h−1. Results showed that, for both soils, increasing soil sodicity had some significant effects on hydrological processes, reducing the infiltration coefficient (pr = −0.69, P < 0.01) and the quasi‐steady final infiltration rate (pr = −0.80, P < 0.01), and increasing the mean sediment loss (pr = 0.39, P < 0.05); however, it did not significantly affect the cumulative rainfall to ponding (P > 0.05). Moreover, increasing sodicity significantly increased the Reynolds number and the stream power (pr = 0.78 and 0.66, P < 0.01, respectively) of the runoff, decreased Manning roughness and Darcy–Weisbach coefficient (pr = −0.52 and −0.52, P < 0.05, respectively), but did not significantly affect the mean flow velocity, mean flow depth, Froude number and hydraulic shear stress. Stream power was shown to be the most sensitive hydraulic variable affecting sediment loss for both soils. Furthermore, as sodicity increased, the values of critical stream power decreased for both the silt loam (R2 = 0.29, P < 0.05) and the silty clay (R2 = 0.49, P < 0.05). The findings of this study were applied to a real situation and identified some negative effects that can occur with increasing sodicity levels. This emphasized the importance of addressing the influences of soil sodicity in particularly high risk situations and when predicting soil and water losses.

Identifying and Quantifying Critical Information Streams for Tactical Combat Decision Modeling

It is often asserted that more information on the battlefield leads to greater situational awareness (SA) which, in turn, translates to enhanced mission performance and outcomes. However, the volume of available information on the modern networked battlefield is extensive and growing, which induces risk of indecision due to cognitive overload. The potential overload highlights the need to streamline the flow of information to those critical streams that provide the most value to a tactical leader’s decision process at particular points in time. The purpose of this study is to identify critical information streams required by tactical leaders within the various phases of a dismounted search and attack/react to contact scenario. Domain Mapping Matrix methodology (DMM) is utilized to quantify the value of various information streams relative to the sub -phases within the scenario using a constructed nominal scale. The significance of the highlighted interactions is validated through the use of statistical analysis, with combat veterans serving as test cases. The findings of this study will facilitate the development of decision models that will eventually enable more accurate and realistic simulation of the leader’s decision processes that increased SA purportedly enhances.

Stopping the “pendulum effect” in CLIL research: Finding the balance between Pollyanna and Scrooge

AbstractThis article examines the appearance of the “pendulum effect” in the CLIL research arena and makes a case for a balanced, disinterested, and methodologically sound approach to continue driving the CLIL agenda forward. It is written as a response to the steady stream of criticism to which CLIL research has recently been subjected and which is primarily embodied by Bruton (Is CLIL so beneficial, or just selective? Re-evaluating some of the Research.System39. 523–532 (2011b), CLIL: Some of the reasons why... and why not.System41. 587–597 (2013), CLIL: Detail matters in the whole picture. More than a reply to J. Hüttner and U. Smit (2014).System53. 119–128 (2015)) and Paran (Content and language integrated learning: Panacea or policy borrowing myth?Applied Linguistics Review4(2). 317–342 (2013), on whose articles it focuses in order to redress the balance on the chief three fronts which these authors explore: CLIL characterization, implementation, and investigation. Within each one, it counters incorrect data and biased interpretations, updates obsolete information which renders certain arguments invalid, and identifies and provides solutions to the main caveats in the CLIL research hitherto conducted. The ultimate aim is to illustrate how we should neither harbor an excessively optimistic view on the way CLIL is playing out nor maintain an overly dismal outlook on the feasibility of its implementation, and to carve out a future research agenda in order to bring the pendulum to a standstill through solid, unskewed, and unbiased CLIL research.

Stuck-Pipe Prediction With Automated Real-Time Modeling and Data Analysis

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 178888, “Stuck-Pipe Prediction Using Automated Real-Time Modeling and Data Analysis,” by Kent Salminen, SPE, Curtis Cheatham, SPE, Mark Smith, SPE, and Khaydar Valiulin, SPE, Weatherford, prepared for the 2016 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, 1–3 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. A real-time method is presented to predict impending stuck pipe with sufficient warning to prevent it. The new method uses automated analysis of real-time modeling coupled with real-time- data analysis. It can be applied to all well types for any well operation. The new method combines two types of analysis: (1) deviation of real-time data from real-time model predictions by use of hydraulics and torque-and-drag software, and (2) trend analysis of real-time data. Data Types and Frequency The approach taken was to first study real-time data sets from wells in which stuck-pipe incidents occurred and determine the root cause of each. The majority of these wells were drilled between 2009 and 2013 in the Eagle Ford shale. Specific patterns in the data were then identified as potential leading indicators of stuck pipe. One of the first issues identified was that the type, frequency, and quality of data available are not consistent from well to well. To ensure that the alerting system was configured to work on different well types with a high degree of functionality, the decision was made that it would be designed to monitor a well and provide alerts even if only “critical” data streams are available. These critical streams would meet the following criteria: Available on most rigs capable of capturing real-time data Be useful in determining information about the drillstring, drilling fluid, and the wellbore itself Fit within a logical progression that can indicate impending stuck pipe

Nondeterministic ranking of university departments

Rankings in higher education are largely used to summarize a huge amount of information into easily understandable numbers. They are also used by governments in order to allocate funding. Nevertheless, they are often criticized. One stream of criticism refers to the fact that rankings build up an ordinal order by considering only the mean of the distribution of indicators and not their variability. Using the micro-data from the Italian evaluation of the quality of research (VQR, Valutazione della Qualita della Ricerca), we examine whether difference in performance between departments with different position in the ranking are distinguishable from random effects. We obtain a robust clustering of departments in a limited number of groups. The number of groups is in the range 3–7, while in most cases it is 4–6. The implications of these findings for evaluation and research policy are explored.

Au-delà de la critique… Approches tiers-mondistes et scènes internationales d’exercice du droit pénal

Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) have evolved in the last two decades into a fertile source for interpretations and engagements of international law and its relationship with its colonial past and the manifold complicity of law and forms of domination. As an eclectic and critical stream, TWAIL comprises approaches such as feminism, postcolonialism, marxism, and post-structuralism. The common denominator of these eclectic approaches seems to be the importance they give to colonialism and forms and structures of domination. TWAIL scholars sought to uncover the role of colonialism in the development of international law and critique the euro-centrism that characterized international law. The current essay acknowledges the contribution that TWAIL made to the recent development in the theory and practice international law. It then proceeds to take TWAIL to task by asking how the approaches conceptualized international criminal processes. The article surveys how early and later generations of TWAIL scholars thought of criminal justice both in domestic and international contexts. The paper concludes that TWAIL can contribute to the articulation of an alternative view of international criminal justice. This is nonetheless predicated on a sound relationship to critique and the recognition of the danger of reifying critique.

Impacts of rainfall intensity and slope gradient on rill erosion processes at loessial hillslope

Rill erosion constitutes one of the mechanisms of soil loss by water on agricultural land. However, studies on hillslope rill erosion characteristics and its intrinsic mechanisms are still unclear. The objectives of this study were to investigate the impacts of rainfall intensity and slope gradient on hillslope rill erosion processes, rill flow hydraulic characteristics and dynamic mechanisms. A soil pan (10m long, 1.5m wide and 0.5m deep and with an adjustable slope gradient of 0–30°) was subjected to rainfall simulation experiments under three rainfall intensities (50, 75 and 100mmh−1) of representative erosive rainfall and three typical slope gradients (10, 15 and 20°) on the Loess Plateau of China. The results showed that rill erosion exhibited significant contributions to hillslope soil erosion, occupying 62.2–84.8% of hillslope soil loss. The equation between the rill erosion rate with rainfall intensity and slope gradient was generated, which indicated that the impacts of rainfall intensity on hillslope rill erosion were greater than those of slope gradient. For the experimental treatments, the mean headward erosion rates varied between 2.2 and 8.2cmmin−1, and they increased with an increase in either rainfall intensity or slope gradient. Most rill flow belonged to turbulent and subcritical flow regimes. The critical shear stress, the critical stream power, and the critical unit stream power of rill occurrence were 0.986Pa, 0.207Nm−1s−1, and 0.002ms−1, respectively. Additionally, hillslope rill erosion was sensitive to rill flow velocity and stream power. In a word, rainfall intensity and slope gradient exhibited important impacts on rill erosion processes and its hydrodynamic characteristics. Therefore, preventing rainfall erosion and weakening slope gradient effects through conservation tillage are useful for reduction of rill erosion at loessial hillslopes.