Mountain Shape Research Articles

Virtual Platform for Museum: A Case Study with Oman Across Ages Museum

Abstract: The Virtual Platform for Oman across Ages Museum (VPOAAM) is a project initiated in 2015 in Manah, Al Dakhiliyah Governorate, aiming to highlight the unique qualities of the Sultanate of Oman and its features, ancient history, and Renaissance. The project, designed in the shape of mountains, was initiated by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq the Great. The project is situated on a 300,000 square meter land area with a building area of 66,591 square meters, designed in the shape of mountains. The late Sultan Qaboos bin Said laid the foundation stone for the project, which inspires architectural innovation and showcases the Sultanate of Oman's qualitative transition from its historical splendors to its bright present. Visitors can explore the museum's art and historical collection online, with interactive virtual tours allowing them to interact and learn about art pieces and exhibits. The museum also contains a wide range of multimedia, including images, videos, written texts, and audio information, allowing visitors to interact with antiques and artistic exhibits. These are a glance of the museum we taken as case study to develop the platform with the approval and kind support from the competent authority of the museum. After successful completion of the research project; the output will be the same museum in a virtual platform. This research conducted with a number of items among thousands of physical items in the museum. And the result shows a significant remark to continue and complete the virtual museum platform for the stated museum.

Exploring the atmospheric conditions increasing fire danger in the Iberian Peninsula

AbstractThe fire danger is particularly sensitive to meteorological conditions. The present study discusses the atmospheric conditions during three periods to evaluate how they can increase fire danger. A set of three convection‐permitting simulations was configured at 2.5 km resolution using the Meso‐NH model. In the first period, the intense surface heating induced by a heatwave favoured the development of the Iberian thermal low in July 2019, leading to the formation of precipitating systems and resulting in convective outflows that affected the central Iberian Peninsula. The outflows were shown to be an important feature in evaluating fire danger during the period; however, the simulation also highlighted the orographic effect as another phenomenon playing an important role in fire development and consequently enhancing the fire danger in some regions such as in the extreme southwest of Portugal. The orographic effect in this specific region was identified and analyzed in detail for two megafire events that occurred in Monchique in August 2003 and 2018. The Monchique Mountain's shape and orientation interacting with the airflow induced upslope and downslope winds that favoured the rapid propagation of the fire fronts in August 2018. The third experiment showed that the circulation of a sea breeze from the southern coast of Portugal may act as an enhancer for fire danger in the region when interacting with the regional mountain, such as verified in the 2003 megafire. The study shows that the fire danger over specific regions can be increased by different atmospheric phenomena and explored from atmospheric modelling. The convective outflows were an important factor enhancing fire danger; however, the orographic effect was confirmed as the main factor producing two megafires events in the extreme southwest of Portugal.

Effects of Submerged Entry Nozzle Bottom Shape on the Size Distribution of Argon Bubbles in a Steel Continuous Casting Slab Strand Using Multiple‐Size‐Group Approach

Herein, the effects of the bottom shape of the submerged entry nozzle (SEN) on the molten steel flow and size distribution of argon bubbles are analyzed in a steel continuous casting slab strand using multiple‐size‐group approach. The type of nozzle bottom includes the well bottom, flat bottom, and mountain bottom. Most of argon bubbles are larger than 4.5 mm inside the SEN and the mold at the three types of nozzles. The frequency distribution of bubbles inside the SEN increases from 28.29% to 32.65% and 35.74% for 5.0–5.5 mm bubbles and decreases from 53.71–50.49% and 47.38% for 5.5–6.0 mm bubbles with the nozzle bottom varied from the flat to mountain and well shape, respectively. The number density of argon bubbles with 4.0–5.5 mm diameter in the mold decreases and increases for 5.5–6.0 mm bubbles with the nozzle bottom varying from the well to flat and mountain shape, respectively. In addition, the results of the industrial trials show that inclusions adhesion and aggregation at the bottom of the nozzle are eliminated using the flat bottom SEN casting. Meanwhile, the mechanism of SEN clogging under the different types of nozzle bottoms is analyzed.

(Invited) Detection of Wavelength Information by Filter-Free Wavelength Sensor and Its Applications

This paper introduces the wavelength and light intensity detection method using the filter-free wavelength sensor without optical filters. Optical detection methods are widely used in medical, environmental, chemical, biofield, and agricultural analyses. In the biofield, the optical detection method makes it possible to predict, diagnose, and analyze diseases by detecting the wavelength information and light intensity, such as absorption, fluorescence, and spectral shift.In order to measure a specific wavelength and intensity of light, mainly used a detection method such as a filter cube of a fluorescence microscope or a monochromator of a spectrometer system. Even if this system has high sensitivity and selectivity, it is not easy to apply to POCTs that require portability due to the high price and increased system volume due to the integration of optical filters and other parts. Therefore, various studies have reported using semiconductor processes to detect the wavelength and light intensity with a high-performance and miniaturized system.An on-chip photodetection device has been reported, such as a fluorescence detection sensor to integrate interference or absorption filters on CMOS image sensors with high selectivity and sensitivity. Since the specific wavelength of light intensity detection is possible, it can apply to biofields such as fluorescence analysis. However, detecting different wavelength changes by fluorescent reagent is difficult because the optical filter is integrated into the CMOS image sensor. A method of multi-wavelength analysis with the single-pixel without an optical filter is reported using a CMOS-buried quad p-n junction photodetector. Since the light wavelength has a different absorption depth depending on the silicon absorption coefficient, it is possible to separate wavelength by measuring the current generated at each p-n junction. Therefore, it will provide a high-space-resolution image in the biofield. However, the possibility detection wavelength band is fixed according to the buried p-n junction numbers and depth.Previously, we reported a filter-free wavelength sensor with a photogate structure. Sensor can detect light intensity and wavelength without optical filters based on the dependence of the light absorption depth in silicon. The sensor fabricates using the 1-polysilicon, 2-metal process in the LSI facility of the Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan, as shown in Fig1(a). The sensor consists of a three-layer structure where deep n-well and p-well were formed on a p-type silicon substrate, as shown in Fig1(b). Applying a voltage to the photogate and n-well forms a potential peak W as a mountain shape below the sensing area. Therefore, the photocurrent generated by the incident light was divided into the surface side (I PG), and bottom side (I n-well) based on the potential peak W and wavelength identification is possible from the current ratio (I n-well/I PG). To detect the wavelength information of multi-peak light for applications in the biofield, compare the centroid wavelength and current ratio. We experimentally confirmed that the centroid wavelength was proportional to the current ratio by the light absorption depth of silicon. Since the light absorption depth depends on the light wavelength, the current ratio is constant even when the light intensity changes. Therefore, estimation of the light intensity is possible by the sum of each current.We proposed a wavelength, spectral shift, and absorbance measure method using a filter-free wavelength sensor to apply various fields. Figure 2(a) shows a schematic for detecting the fluorescence wavelength. Without using optical filters, fluorescence can be quantified by calculating the centroid wavelength of the light even when the excitation light is emitted simultaneously. In addition, it successfully identified fluorescence emitted from Legionella bacteria [1]. Figure 2(b) shows a schematic diagram that can identify the change in the spectrum using a sensor. Integrating an LSPR biosensor into a filter-free wavelength sensor makes it possible to measure the amount of spectrum changed by molecular binding. Therefore, miniaturization of the LSPR detection system becomes possible, and we succeeded in detecting and quantifying the S-protein of SARS-CoV-2 [2]. Figure 2(c) shows a schematic diagram of the absorbance measurements method for samples that absorb a specific wavelength range. By the proposed absorbance measurement method was possible to measure the ratio of chlorophyll content and chlorophyll a/b ratio contributing to plant photosynthesis [3].The filter-free wavelength sensor fabricated by the semiconductor process has been confirmed for its application as an optical detection system. In the future, we will continue research to develop an optical sensor system that is more compact, sensitive, and selective and can be applied to various fields.[1] Biosensors, vol.12, no.11, p.1033 (2022)[2] Applied Physics Express, vol.16, no.1, p.012012 (2023)[3] Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., vol.61, p.SD1041 (2022) Figure 1

A comprehensive study on enhancing effective thermal conductivity of polymer composites with randomly distributed triple fillers

This paper describes a comprehensive study on the effective thermal conductivity (ETC) of triple-filled polymer composites. A very complicated behavior was revealed under various effective factors, such as thermal conductivity (TC), volume fraction (VF), particle distribution, particle size, and filler arrangement. Consequently, some prediction models, which were well validated with numerical results, are first developed. Additionally, the ETC of polymer composite dramatically and non-linearly depends on TC ratios, VF ratios, particle distribution, filler arrangement, and particle size of the triple filler. The mountain shape of the ETC forms and depends on a variety of effective factors. The maximum ETC exists at the given optimum TC ratios ranging from approximately 0.1 to 100. It was also found that the ETC increases with the increase of the VF ratio for a threshold TC ratio; however, this trend changes when TC ratios go beyond the threshold values. Particularly, the ETC of the particle-filled polymer composite also depends on the filler arrangement, even though particles are straightly arranged along the direction of thermal flow. This effect becomes more significant when the difference in VF and TC between particles is larger. The results obtained are very useful in enhancing and maximizing the ETC of polymer composites with triple fillers and even multiple fillers in general.

Study on low temperature and durability characteristics of gasket for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) depending on cross-sectional geometry

This study investigates the low-temperature and durability characteristics of fuel cell gaskets based on their cross-sectional geometry. Samples of rectangular, half-circular, and mountain shapes produced by injection molding are introduced. Experiments are conducted at −40 °C, near the glass transition temperature of EPDM (Ethylene-propylene-diene monomer), to elucidate the differences in airtightness. The maximum pressures capable of maintaining airtightness at −40 °C are 1.5, 2.1, and 2.6 barg initially for the rectangular, half-circular, and mountain shapes, respectively. After degradation for 28 days at 120 °C, these pressures drop by 0.4, 0.6, and 1.1 barg. Simulations suggest that enhancing sealing performance relies on increasing contact pressure via a smaller contact area but it causes rapid degradation due to the internal stress concentration. Hence, achieving an optimal design balancing airtightness and durability under high pressure is crucial. In this study, it is concluded that the half-circular shape demonstrates the most stable structural performance in this regard.

宋代 한 시인의 南方 여행

This Study focused on Yang Wanli(楊萬里)'s Official Travel Poetry work(宦遊詩), which drew “Nature” as Poetry Materials during the two-month journey to work in 1180. The purpose of this study is to analyze the natural shape of the south drawn in these works and the emotions and psychology of the poet involved in the trip during the official travel process, and to contrast his “Nature” drawn in them with his poetic claims. In the Official Travel Poetry, the style of the work may vary depending on the conditions or psychological conditions in which the poet is in, such as the case of leaving after receiving an official position and leaving after being registered. Yang Wanli's Official Travel Poetry, especially the Official Travel Poetry which was built on the way to Gangdong, used the richness of nature description, natural scenery, and the cleanness of everyday scenery. Yang Wanli saw that “Traveling far” was the only creative way to write poetry, and that the only source of creation was the beautiful appearance of nature that he experienced while traveling around the mountains and streams. In his eyes, “Rivers and Mountains” not only can help the creation of poetry, but itself is almost the life of the poem, and there is no poem regardless of the shape of mountains, rivers, and rainy and sunny days.

A CNT-Toughened Strategy for In-Situ Repair of Aircraft Composite Structures.

This study aimed to develop an in-situ field-repair approach, especially for aircraft composite structures, to enhance the interlaminar toughness of plain-woven composites (PWCs) by adding multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). MWCNTs were dispersed at each interface between prepreg layers by means of solvent spraying, with a density of 1.58 g/m2. Then, the layers were stacked with the predefined sequence and cured at 120 °C and 1 bar pressure, using a heat-repairing instrument. A standard double cantilever beam (DCB) test was used to investigate the interlaminar toughening effect that was due to the MWCNTs. For comparison, original samples were also prepared. The results indicated that the introduction of MWCNTs can favorably enhance the interlaminar toughness of PWCs in a field-repair approach and the Mode I fracture energy release rate, GIC, increased by 102.92%. Based on the finite element method (FEM) of continuum damage mechanics, the original samples and the MWCNTs toughening specimen under DCB Mode I fracture were modeled and analyzed. The simulation and the experiment were in good agreement. Finally, when the toughening mechanism of MWCNTs was explored with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), we found that a large amount of fiber-matrix (F-M) interface debonding and matrix cracking in mountain shape were the major modes of fracture, accompanied by a small amount of fiber breakage and matrix peeling for the MWCNTs-toughening specimens.

Patch three-dimensional effect for plant species diversity of urban remnant mountain in multi-mountain city

In some karst mountainous areas, with the urban expansion driven by rapid urbanization, a large number of natural mountains that were not suitable for development and construction were embedded into the urban built environment, forming urban remnant mountains(URMs). In this study, we conducted a indicator system to explore the relationship between morphological characteristics of URM and its plant species diversity. The results showed that: (i) The two boundary plane morphological indicators of URMs were significantly associated with its plant species α and β diversity; among the overall morphological indicators, mountain form factor (MFF) was significantly associated with plant species α and β diversity, mountain size coefficient (MSC) was negatively related to Margalef (R) index, and mountain volume density (MVD) had no significant relationship with plant diversity. Additionally, surface morphological indicators were significantly negatively correlated with the Pielou (Jgi) index, and positively correlated with Jaccard (Cj) and Sorenson (Cs) indices. (ii) There were also differences in the influence of morphological characteristic indicators of URMs on the plant species diversity of its different slope position and slope direction. Mountain shape index (MSI), mountain fractal dimension (MFD) and MFF had significant influence on plant species α and β diversity indices of different slope position and slope direction; All surface indicators of URMs morphological characteristics were significantly associated with plant species α and β diversity indices on the southern slope of URMs. (iii) The effects of URMs morphological indicators on plant diversity of different life forms were different, and the influence of herb plant diversity was more significant. (iiii) The multiple regression analysis showed that the URM morphological characteristic indicators could explain the difference of plant species α diversity among different URMs, while the interpretation of plant species β diversity among URMs was poor. In general, the three-dimensional characteristics of the URM are complex and particularity, and the quantitative indicators of different dimensions all showed the impact on the plant species diversity of the URMs. This study demonstrated that the ecological processes of the URM habitats have more complex patch effects in response to interference as compared to the general remnant habitat.

Topography of mountain belts controlled by rheology and surface processes.

It is widely recognized that collisional mountain belt topography is generated by crustal thickening and lowered by river bedrock erosion, linking climate and tectonics1-4. However, whether surface processes or lithospheric strength control mountain belt height, shape and longevity remains uncertain. Additionally, how to reconcile high erosion rates in some active orogens with long-term survival of mountain belts for hundreds of millions of years remains enigmatic. Here we investigate mountain belt growth and decay using a new coupled surface process5,6 and mantle-scale tectonic model7. End-member models and the new non-dimensional Beaumont number, Bm, quantify how surface processes and tectonics control the topographic evolution of mountain belts, and enable the definition of three end-member types of growing orogens: type 1, non-steady state, strength controlled (Bm > 0.5); type 2, flux steady state8, strength controlled (Bm ≈ 0.4-0.5); and type 3, flux steady state, erosion controlled (Bm < 0.4). Our results indicate that tectonics dominate in Himalaya-Tibet and the Central Andes (both type 1), efficient surface processes balance high convergence rates in Taiwan (probably type 2) and surface processes dominate in the Southern Alps of New Zealand (type 3). Orogenic decay is determined by erosional efficiency and can be subdivided into two phases with variable isostatic rebound characteristics and associated timescales. The results presented here provide a unified framework explaining how surface processes and lithospheric strength control the height, shape, and longevity of mountain belts.

Pseudo-Maxwellian Velocity Distribution Formed by the Pickup-like Process in Magnetic Reconnection

Focusing on ring-shaped ion velocity distributions with a finite width formed in magnetic reconnection in the presence of a guide magnetic field, intriguing properties such as the formation mechanism, a significant change in the shape, and necessary conditions for the change are investigated by means of theory and simulations. The width of a ring velocity distribution predominantly originates from velocity variations of seed particles for the pickup-like process. A function exactly representing a ring with a width is analytically formulated, assuming a steady supply of seed particles satisfying a Maxwellian velocity distribution and a mixing of gyration phases. The formulated function indicates that when the ring width is larger than a criterion, the local minimum of the ring’s center is changed into the maximum, and the shape is transformed into a mountain shape. Such a mountain-like distribution is defined as “a pseudo-Maxwellian distribution,” because it is almost indistinguishable in shape from a genuine Maxwellian distribution. Actually, particle simulations demonstrate that mountain-shaped ion velocity distributions are formed during magnetic reconnection with a guide magnetic field, and it is nearly concluded that they are pseudo-Maxwellian distributions. Moreover, two types of evidence for pseudo-Maxwellian distributions are shown by simulations. One is to analyze the dependence of the distribution shape on the guide magnetic field, which is explored by the particle simulation. In cases of slightly different values of the guide field, vague shapes of rings with a width are observed as ion velocity distributions. The other is to observe velocity distributions under a hypothetical condition of an artificial zero temperature in the upstream by utilizing a test particle simulation. In the test particle simulation, ring-shaped distributions with a width are clearly seen, because the velocity variations in the upstream are reduced. From the two types of evidence, it is definitely confirmed that the mountain-shaped distributions found in the particle simulations are pseudo-Maxwellian distribution. These results imply that pseudo-Maxwellian distributions would be created for various cases of guide field magnetic reconnection.

Generalized correlation for predicting the droplet size in a microfluidic flow-focusing device under the effect of surfactant

This paper describes an investigation on the dynamic behavior of droplet formation in a microfluidic flow-focusing device (MFFD) under the effect of surfactant using a phase-field method and the Koterweg stress applied in Navier–Stokes equations. The effects of variously important parameters, such as capillary number (Ca0), water fraction (wf), the viscosity ratio (α), and particularly surfactant concentration (cb), were examined. Consequently, the numerical results match the experimental ones. Additionally, the droplet formation is significantly affected by the surfactant, and the droplet size decreases with increasing cb for the whole range of both wf and Ca0. Based on the extensive study, the phase diagrams with two main modes, namely, dropping and threading, are provided. A mountain shape of the dropping mode was found, and this mode can be extended for higher wf with the presence of surfactant. In particular, new generalized correlations as a function of wf, Ca0, and cb are first proposed for predicting quickly and effectively the droplet size. Furthermore, the droplet formation depends significantly on α. With the presence of surfactant, smaller size of the droplet forms and the threading mode occurs at very high α. The results obtained in this study are very useful for understanding the dynamic behavior of droplet formation in MFFDs, which can be used in potential applications such as biomedical and drug delivery systems.

Environmental drivers of above-ground biomass in semi-arid rangelands

Above-ground biomass (AGB), as a key biophysical and functional parameter of rangeland ecosystems, plays an important role in ecosystem carbon (C) stocks. The aim of this study was to explore the important environmental drivers of AGB in an arid rangeland by using structural equation modelling (SEM). Vegetation and soil (physical and chemical properties) were sampled using randomised-systematic methods within sampling plots. The topographic (elevation, slope, aspect, hillshade (i.e. a technique for showing the topographical shape of hills and mountains to indicate relative slopes and mountain ridges)) and climatic (mean temperature (MT), mean precipitation (MP), actual evapo-transpiration (AET) and land-surface temperature (LST)) properties were extrapolated using a raster-based digital elevation-model (DEM) map, and their values extracted at each sampling plot. SEM was then applied to assess the direct and indirect impacts of environmental factors on AGB. The AGB was directly affected by soil (41%, P &lt; 0.05) and climatic properties (34%, P &lt; 0.05). The effect of topographical factors on AGB was non-significant (P &gt; 0.05). However, climatic properties were directly affected by topographical properties, with a path coefficient of 34%. Among soil properties, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium concentrations, silt content and soil pH were the key factors affecting AGB. Climatic variables (MT, MP) were equally effective in explaining the climate latent variable (with loading factors of −0.97 and 0.99 respectively) and AGB changes. This study highlighted the importance of soil and climatic properties in AGB variation. SEM simplified and revealed the complex relationships among ecosystem components affecting AGB, which could assist proper management of rangelands.

Applying Lifestyle Pattern Analysis and Glucose/Exercise Segmentation Analysis to Study the Impacts of Hot Summer Weather on Exercise and Busy Traveling Lifestyle on Postprandial Plasma Glucose During a 3.4-Year Period from 5/8/2018 to 8/29/2021 Based on GH-Method: Math-Physical Medicine (No. 504)

Since 1/1/2012, the author measured his postprandial plasma glucose (PPG) using the finger-piercing method three times a day at two hours after the first bite of his meals. After eating each meal, he normally walks around 4,000 steps from 1 to 1.5 hours post-meal. Since 5/5/2018, he applied a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensor device on his upper arm and collected glucose data constantly at 15-minute time intervals and then recorded the complete data on his iPhone. As a result, he has been accumulating 13 glucose values for each PPG at 3-hour periods and 96 glucose data each day over the past 3.4 years from 5/8/2018 to 8/29/2021. By early 2019, he noticed that most of his daily sensor PPG waveforms have had similar shapes. They usually appeared as a mountain shape with its peak at various heights around 60-minutes post-meal and then they would start to decline for another hour. This means that his PPG curve usually reaches to its peak approximately 60-minutes and then drops to its nadir around 120-minutes. After 120-minutes, if he stops walking, sometimes his PPG curve would start to tilt upward again, but the PPG curve would remain flat at nadir position for most of the remaining time. Either remaining as a flat line or moving ahead with a smaller slope to reach to another lower peak near 180-minutes are considered significant biophysical phenomena of PPG biomedical behavior. After noticing this biophysical phenomenon of glucose waves, he started to research and analyze them with the energy theory and wave theory which he learned from academic disciplines such as mechanical engineering, structural engineering and electronic engineering. As a result, he started to utilize the concept of the energy balance between infusion and consumption that would result at either an energy equilibrium or disequilibrium situation. This state of energy balance from engineering are related to the mass-energy equivalence theory such as theory of relativity of quantum mechanics. Furthermore, the above-mentioned situations are extremely similar to the biomedical condition of metabolism in medicine. These learned knowledge and research findings lead him into an expanded scope of the damage created on internal organs through excessive energy, i.e., when the energy infusion from food is greater than the energy consumption by exercise and other factors.

Lateral Variations in Lower Crustal Strength Control the Temporal Evolution of Mountain Ranges: Examples From South‐East Tibet

AbstractControversy surrounds the rheology of the continental lithosphere, and how this rheology controls the evolution and behavior of mountain ranges. In this study, we investigate the effect of lateral contrasts in the strength of the lower crust, such as those between cratonic continental interiors and weaker rocks in the adjacent deforming regions, on the evolution of topography. We combine numerical modeling with recently published results from stable‐isotope palaeoaltimetry in south‐east Tibet. Stable‐isotope palaeoaltimetry in this region provides constraints on vertical motions, which are required to distinguish between competing models for lithosphere rheology and deformation. We use numerical modeling to investigate the effect of lateral strength contrasts on the shape and temporal evolution of mountain ranges. In combination with palaeoaltimetry results, our modeling suggests that lateral strength contrasts provide a first‐order control on the evolution of topography in south‐east Tibet. We find that the evolution of topography in the presence of such strength contrasts leads to laterally varying topographic gradients, and to key features of the GPS‐ and earthquake‐derived strain‐rate field, without the need for a low‐viscosity, lower‐crustal channel. We also find that palaeoaltimetric samples may have been transported laterally for hundreds of kilometers, an effect which should be accounted for in their interpretation. Our results are likely to be applicable to the evolution of mountain ranges in general and provide an explanation for the spatial correlation between cratonic lowland regions and steep mountain range‐fronts.

Study on the oxidation of WC-Co cemented carbide under different conditions

The oxidation of cemented carbide can affect its service performance due to the significant reduction in mechanical properties. This paper investigates the oxidation of WC-Co cemented carbide under both isothermally and laser irradiation conditions. The nanosecond pulsed laser was used to perform laser-induced oxidation in both air and pure oxygen. In comparison, the microstructures of oxide layer in laser-induced oxidation were very different to isothermal oxidation. The more porous oxide layers with spider web and cotton microstructure were observed in laser-induced oxidation. The oxide layer on material surface was stacked a small mountain shape due to the Gaussian profile of pulsed laser beam. The oxygen content curve showed a rapidly increasing trend at the beginning, and then became stable with increasing laser power.

Elevational gradients of species richness, community structure, and niche occupation of tropical rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Steninae) across mountain slopes in Northern Thailand

We evaluated patterns of species richness, heterogeneity, niche occupation, and community structuring/similarity of staphylinid beetles of the subfamily Steninae across a 2500-m elevational gradient of a tropical mountain area in Northern Thailand. Predaceous Steninae were collected from a variety of habitat types. Increasing Sørensen dissimilarity with increasing elevation was explained by both species turnover (especially across the lower elevational zones) and declining numbers of species (especially across elevations > 1400 m). Unlike the strong decline of the number of species with increasing elevation, species density (i.e., total number of species divided by the number of collection sites at the respective elevational zone) showed a much smoother decline suggesting that the negative gradient in the number of species was superimposed by a land-area effect inherent in mountain shape. In both the litter-inhabiting species and waterfall-associated species, the numbers of species showed a mid-elevational peak. Species frequency was positively correlated to both elevational (“Dianous” and Stenus) and habitat niche width (Stenus only). Stenus showed high interspecific variety of wide to narrow niche widths for both elevation and habitat. Numbers of Palearctic and Oriental species deviated from statistical expectation, suggesting that climate niche conservatism has played a role in their elevational distribution. The distributional patterns of “Dianous” beetles, with their strong hygrobiont preferences associated with rocks in running water and waterfalls, are potentially explained by source–sink dynamics along mountain streams.

A shadow constrained conditional generative adversarial net for SRTM data restoration

The original data produced by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) tend to have an abundance of voids in mountainous areas where the elevation measurements are missing. In this paper, deep learning models are investigated for restoring SRTM data. To this end, we explore generative adversarial nets, which represent one state-of-the-art family of deep learning models. A conditional generative adversarial network (CGAN) is introduced as the baseline method for filling voids in incomplete SRTM data. The problem regarding shadow violation that possibly arises from the CGAN restored data is investigated. To address this deficiency, shadow geometric constraints based on shadow maps of satellite images are devised. In addition, a shadow constrained conditional generative adversarial network (SCGAN), which incorporates the shadow geometric constraints into the CGAN, is developed. Training the SCGAN model requires both the remote sensing observations (i.e., the original incomplete SRTM data and satellite images) and the ground truth data (i.e., the complete SRTM data, which are manually refined from the incomplete SRTM data with the reference of in-situ measurements). The integration of the multi-source training data enables the SCGAN model to be characterized by comprehensive information including both mountain shape variation and mountain shadow geometry. Experimental results validate the superiority of the SCGAN over the comparison methods, i.e., the interpolation, the convolutional neural network (CNN) and the baseline CGAN, in SRTM data restoration.

Mapping vanished mountain shapes – The struggle between limestone mining and establishing a natural park at Mount Bukō –

Abstract. This report searches for the Japanese view of beauty and nature through a study of the mapping of the transformation of a mountain’s shape. A normal map primarily intends to express existing shapes, but this report maps the vanished shape of a mountain from the limestone mining of its slopes. This is done to consider how its vanished shape has impacted the Japanese view of beauty and nature. The mountain studied is Mount Bukō located in Chichibu City and Yokozemachi in Saitama Prefecture. Mount Bukō is suitable for limestone mining, and during the Edō Period, limestone was mined on this mountain to obtain material for mortar and fertilizer. In the Meiji Period, cement was used in Japan to construct buildings and surface roads, and limestone (raw material for cement) was produced and consumed in large quantities. During the Taishō Period, corporations started to mine vast quantities of limestone. At Mount Bukō, the shape of the mountain was heavily transformed by limestone mining (Figure 1,2).However, during the 1940s, Mount Bukō was mentioned as a candidate site for a national park. In 1957, the entire area – including the mining site – was designated the Saitama Prefectural Natural Park. Parks are designated in Japan in imitation of Europe and America, and their major purposes are to preserve beautiful scenery and serve as places for residents’ recreational activities. Thus, by the Meiji Period, national parks such as Nikko National Park (which includes the Tōshōgū Shrine) were already being designated. Considering the above historical background, the movement to designate Mount Bukō as a park can be understood as an effort to preserve its scenery and provide a place for residents’ activities. But limestone mining continues to transform the shape of the mountain as, for example, a total of roughly 6.99 million tons of limestone were mined on Mount Bukō in 2016. By analyzing the facts of this case, this study can portray the Japanese consciousness of the change of the shapes of mountains and clarify the nature of their view of beauty and nature in mountains.This paper reports on the preparation of a stereoscopic map based on topographical maps and photos created since the start of the Meiji Period, Chichibu fudasho temple drawings from the Edō Period, and the chronological mapping of the shape of the mountain before and since its designation as a park. Mapping using diverse source materials to represent exposed rock and landslides caused by limestone mining permits a detailed study that would be impossible based on topographical maps lacking contour lines, photographs, or drawings from one direction, primarily from the northern side of the mountain (Figure 3,4). This study shows which parts of the disappearing Mount Bukō are important to people and which parts of the remaining mountain shape they value highly. It also portrays the Japanese view of beauty and nature from a cultural perspective to aesthetically evaluate artificially formed “nature” as seen in temple gardens or bonsai.

Classification of the superior angle of the scapula and its correlation with the suprascapular notch: a study on 303 scapulas.

The aims of this study had been to classify the superior angle of the scapula based on morphological features, and to investigate its correlation with the suprascapular notch. 303 samples of Chinese dried scapular specimens were collected from the Department of anatomy, Southwest Medical University. According to the anatomical morphological characteristics of the superior angle of the scapula, the morphological classification was performed to explore its correlation with the suprascapular notch (SSN). The superior angle of the scapula was classified into three types (Hilly shape, Mountain Peak shape and Chimney shape). There were 143 cases of Hilly shape (47.20%), 144 cases of Mountain shape (47.52%), and 16 cases of Chimney shape (5.28%). The angle of Hilly shape (93.36° ± 7.76°) was significantly larger than the Mountain Peak shape (86.60° ± 6.61°) and the Chimney shape (86.22° ± 7.20°), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The type I-III of Rengachary's classification to SSN was low risk of suprascapular nerve entrapment, while the type IV-VI was high risk of suprascapular nerve entrapment. Compared with the Mountain Peak shape and the Chimney shape, the Hilly shape corresponds to more types I-III of suprascapular notch but to fewer types IV-VI (P < 0.05). The superior angle of the scapula was divided into three types: Hilly shape (47.20%), Mountain Peak shape (47.52%) and Chimney shape (5.28%). The Mountain Peak shape might be more likely to result in inability of the levator muscle with acute or chronic overload mechanisms, and the risk of suprascapular nerve entrapment in Mountain peak shape was higher than that of Hilly shape. And, it might have a potential effect on neck pain.