Short-term Measurements Research Articles

Measurement strategies to account for the temporal variation in soil-respired CO2 and its δ13C value in an irrigated oasis agroecosystem

Soil respiration is an important ecosystem process and fluctuates daily and seasonally with abiotic and biotic factors, inevitably leading to uncertainty in the estimation of daily, monthly or seasonal means from short-term measurements. The measurement strategies are poorly understood and are commonly analyzed using noncontinuous measurements. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the optimum measurement time and frequency of soil-respired CO2 (Rs) and its δ13C (δs) value, as well as soil temperature (ST) and soil water content (SWC) during the growing season. To provide more refined recommendations, we performed long-term continuous measurements of Rs and δs value with a multichannel and dual-cycle observation system under non-steady-state conditions in an irrigated oasis agroecosystem in Northwest China. The daily optimum measurement time of Rs was 9:00–10:00, which accounted for 89.0% of the total measurement days and was within the previously recommended time scale of 9:00–12:00. δs showed little diurnal variation, and each hourly mean approximately represented the daily mean. The Rs and δs measured at 9:00–11:00 did not significantly differ from the daily mean, yet the soil temperature (ST) and soil water content (SWC) measured at 9:00–11:00 were lower than the daily mean values. The number of days needed to obtain values ±10% for Rs, δs, ST and SWC was 101, 23, 13, and 25, respectively (95% confidence interval (CI)), which sharply decreased to 11, 3, 1, and 3 days, respectively (95% CI), when the desired accuracy expanded to ±30% for Rs, δs, ST and SWC in the growing season. That means the measurement interval of Rs and δs were about is 14 days and 53 days during the growing season in agroecosystems (95% CI, ±30% mean). Overall, this study analyzed the optimum measurement times for Rs and δs at daily, monthly and seasonal time scales and provided guidelines for improving measurement frequencies under noncontinuous measurements.

Assessment of human interventions presence and their impact on shoreline changes along Nile delta, Egypt

Coastal erosion is a natural process, that contributed to shaping the Nile Delta shoreline in Egypt over history. The objective of this research is to investigate shoreline changes, accretion, and erosion and to detect particularly vulnerable locations that require immediate attention. Another goal is to assess the efficiency of coastal installations that have been recently implemented along the study area and determine whether they have performed their role to the fullest or need additional modifications. Several Landsat images (TM, ETM+, and OLI) were utilized over 37 years to track the shoreline changes and were analysed using remote sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS). The digital shoreline analysis system (DSAS) was integrated with the LRR model for assessing historical changes for shorelines from 1985 to 2022 and forecasting future shoreline positions in 2030, 2050, and 2100. Most of the eight zones that make up the Delta region have lately seen the establishment of coastal projects, such as the development of the Abu Qir port's breakwater in 2021. From the results, it was found that the areas around Rosetta promontory, Burullus headland, and Damietta promontory experienced a significant and rapid retreat and with large rates over the study period, with average values of –15.7, –3.25, and –16.8 m/y, respectively. However, both the coast of Alexandria, and Gamasa embayment were subjected to accretion as a prevailing case, with average rates of 2.85, and 4.03 m/y, respectively. Many groins were installed in the east of the Rosetta promontory (zone 3) in 2016 to decrease the erosion process; however, it didn't pay off and could not solve the problem. In contrast, the groins system, which was implemented at the East Kitchener Drain (zone 5) in the same year, lowered erosion rates from 17.6 m/y from 2000 to 2010 to 7 m/y from 2010 to 2022. In 2019, Y-groins built in zone 7, east of Damietta Port, succeeded in slowing rates of erosion. Finally, inlet jetties at El-Gamil (zone 8) were constructed in 2016, resulting in the coastline advancing at 14.7 m/y on average in the period of 2010–2022. The findings of this study confirmed that hard structures are dangerous because they exacerbate the problem of shoreline erosion by disseminating it to the neighbouring beaches and acting as an impediment to the movement of longshore sediments. According to the expected future shoreline patterns, it is necessary for authorities to implement both short-term and long-term protective measures to stop the erosion of several areas of the beach.

Coastal erosion and climate change: A review on coastal-change process and modeling.

Coastal erosion is a normal process of nature. However, the rate of coastal erosion, and the frequency and intensity of coastal flooding events, are now on the rise around the world due to the changing climate. Current responses to coastal erosion are primarily determined by site-specific factors, such as coastal elevation, coastal slope, coastal features, and historical coastline change rate, without a systematic understanding of the coastal-change processes in the context of climate change, including spatiotemporal changes in sea level, regional changes in wave climate, and sea ice coverage. In the absence of a clear understanding of the coastal-change processes, most of the current coastal responses have been built upon a risky assumption (i.e., the present-day coastal change will persist) and are not resilient to future climate change. Here, we conduct a literature review to summarize the latest scientific understanding of the coastal-change processes under climate change and the potential research gaps towards the prediction of future coastal erosion. Our review suggests that a coupled coastal simulation system with a nearshore wave model (e.g., SWAN, MIKE21, etc.) can play a critical role in both the short-term and long-term coastal risk assessment and protective measure development.

10 years of leadership: the activity of the Kazan provincial leader of the nobility S.N. Terenin (1846–1897)

The article is devoted to the service of S.N. Terenin as the leader of the nobility of the Kazan province from 1887 to 1897. Previously, the reconstruction of his biography and social activities in Russian historiography was not carried out, and this study is the first attempt to analyze the service of Stepan Nikolaevich Terenin as a provincial leader of the nobility. Based on the office documentation of the noble self-government bodies, the author shows the main directions in Terenin's work. In addition to solving current issues, the activities of the provincial leader of the nobility had a pronounced social orientation. Helping the nobles during their studies in secondary educational institutions, caring for the elderly and sick nobles who were left without the support of relatives, assigning allowances and lump-sum payments – all this has become one of the forms of social protection for representatives of the upper class who find themselves in a difficult financial situation. In addition to short-term measures provided to the nobles and of a situational nature, projects were developed to strengthen the economic well-being of the entire estate. The result was petitions to the government and the satisfaction of some petitions of the Kazan nobility. For citation: Mironova Ye.V. 10 years of leadership: the activity of the Kazan provincial leader of the nobility S.N. Terenin (1846–1897). From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2023, vol.13, no.2, pp.73–82. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2023-13-2.73-82 (In Russian)

A new method for evaluating the stability of radon concentration in a radon chamber

Evaluation of the stability of radon concentration in a radon chamber is a critical part of the quality controls of a radon chamber to ensure the better performance. However, the existing evaluation method focus on giving the relative percentage difference between the individual observation value and the reference average. This index only reflects the evaluation results of short-term measurements and fails to provide available information that reflects the long-term stability of observation data. This paper presents a new evaluation method, Trend Analysis. The proposed method allowed to give a quick response to trend changes and abnormal results in observation data to find out the time interval that required special concern. Two stability tests were conducted in the HD-6 multi-functional radon chamber, and the results obtained from this method application were presented. In two tests, the radon concentration in the radon chamber was measured for 72 hours. The first 24 hours of observation data were used to analyze the stability, and the following 48 hours of observation data were used to verify the analysis results. Compared with the existing method, the evaluation method proposed in this paper increases the recognition of trends in observation data, thereby further predicting anomalies in subsequent data. Tests have proved that this method is very useful for evaluating the stability of radon concentration in a radon chamber.

Frequency of Iron Deficiency Anemia in Children Presenting with Pallor to Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar

To determine the frequency of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) in children who present with clinical pallor.The study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital, Hayatabad Medical Complex, between August 2018 and July 2022. We utilized laboratory information and took blood samples of 5ml to check for haemoglobin and ferritin levels. The criteria for IDA diagnosis were the presence of low haemoglobin levels (<11gm/dl) and low ferritin levels (<30ng/ml). The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. The study contained 492 children (1 to 15 years).The total number of anaemic was 467 (94.9%) and Iron Deficiency Anemia was found to be present in 28.8% of the patients. Our study concludes that the frequency of iron deficiency is high in children presenting with pallor. Initiatives like National programs incorporating short-term measures like iron supplements and long-term ones like fortifying wheat flour could decrease the burden of IDA.

Aid solutions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in selected European Union countries in 20202021

Introduction: The article presents selected aid solutions introduced in 20202021 in several European Union (EU) countries (Italy, Spain, Germany) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative economic effects. Government assistance has often been temporary, but some labour market and social security changes are systemic.Objective: Presentation of aid solutions in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic in EU countries, an overview of the short-term aid measures and system changes. Materials and methods: Review of government websites and legislation regulating the state of the COVID-19 pandemic and assistance solutions during this period.Results: The conclusions indicate that aid solutions aimed at supporting the labour market in Germany and Spain effectively mitigate the economic difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the implementation of anti-crisis programs is a particular challenge for public administration.

Participation in the International Judo Federation World Tour competitions and performance in Tokyo Olympic Games.

The International Judo Federation introduced a ranking system in 2009 that determines top athletes for the Olympic Games and seeds them in competitions. Previous research indicated that this ranking list and past performances predicted 19%-27% of performance in the Olympic Games and World Championships. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between Judo World Tour competitions and Olympic Games performance may have been affected. This study aimed to examine the relationship between athletes' performance in Judo World Tour competitions and their competitive performance at the Olympic Games. Data from 393 athletes who participated in the Tokyo Olympics were analyzed considering both long and short-term performance measures. Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationship between variables and multiple linear regressions were used to predict performance for each sex and the entire sample. The results revealed a range of magnitudes in the correlation between variables, varying from small to large. In terms of regression analyses, it was observed that, for females, the percentage of matches won during the classification period and competition in the year prior to the Olympic Games predicted 37% of their performance. For males, the percentage of matches won during the classification period and competition in the six months before the Olympic Games predicted 36% of their performance. Thus, athletes' quality and reduced exposure to competition near the Olympic Games appear to be important factors in their performance at the event.

Exposure of students (pupils) and employees of educational institutions in the Leningrad region to natural sources of radiation. Part 1: Results of a comprehensive survey

Currently, there is no methodological support for radiation monitoring and sanitary and epidemiological assessment of radon concentration (or radon EEC) and other parameters of the radiation situation in existing operated buildings. The paper presents a review of the protocols for conducting measurements of indoor Leningrad region with previously found elevated levels of radon concentration using long-term measurements. The survey revealed that highest values of indoor radon ECC were obtained using instant measurements in several educational institutions both in the normal operation mode of the buildings (up to 1106 Bq/m3) and after leaving the premises for 12 hours with closed windows and doors (up to 1586 Bq/m3) according to the requirements of paragraph 6.5 of MU 2.6.1.2838-11. High values of radon concentration were also obtained using long-term and short-term measurements (up to 4900 and 1420 Bq/m3, respectively). In addition, high values of radon flux density were detected (up to 2030 mBq/(m2·s)). The established hygienic norms for ambient dose equivalent rate indoors and outdoors were not exceeded in the surveyed educational institutions. The levels of gross alphaand beta activities in tap water sampled from the surveyed educational institutions were below the control levels, and an exceedance of intervention level for activity concentration of radon in analyzed samples was not detected. The results of the survey will be used for hygienic assessment of doses and health risks for students (pupils) and employees of several educational institutions of the Leningrad region due to exposure to radon and its progeny and can be used to improve the method for indoor radon concentration monitoring in existing operated public buildings in the Russian Federation, which in turn will make it possible to obtain correct values of public doses and health risks.

Preliminary Population Exposure to Indoor Radon and Thoron in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Radon, an element of natural radiation, is considered one of the leading causes of lung cancer worldwide. In Bangladesh, radon has been clarified as a foremost source of radiation exposure. Potential natural-radiation-induced elevated cancer risks were estimated in Bangladesh previously for the population. In this survey, as a very preliminary study in the country, comparative indoor radon (222Rn, Rn) and thoron (220Rn, Tn) concentration/population exposure was determined for the multistoried dwellings of south-western areas of Dhaka city. RADUET was used to assess annual Rn and Tn concentrations in determining the primary inhalation dose for the population. The annual effective dose of Rn and Tn was evaluated in this study for dwellings at 0.3 mSvy−1, constituting a Tn dose contribution of an average of 40% with a dwelling-based wide range of 10–96%. Thus, Tn should not be neglected for Bangladesh while estimating radiological inhalation dose from the indoor environment. Again, the equilibrium factors, F of Rn and Tn, were determined by short-term measurement at averages of 0.6 and 0.02, respectively. Furthermore, using questionnaire estimation by principal component analysis, PCA following the dwelling characteristics, human lifestyles, and estimated long-term indoor Rn and Tn concentrations, this paper discussed indoor atmospheric/Rn factors for the investigated multistoried dwellings in Dhaka city.

Inter- and intrarater reliability of short-term measurement of heart rate variability on rest in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Individuals with COPD have an imbalance of cardiac autonomic control. In this context, HRV is considered an important tool for assessing cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic balance, however it is a dependent evaluator measure and subject to methodological biases that may compromise the interpretation of results. This study examines the inter- and intrarater reliability of HRV parameters derived from short-term recordings in individuals with COPD. Fifty-one individuals of both genders with COPD clinical diagnosis confirmed by the pulmonary function test and aged ≥50 years were included. The RR interval (RRi) were recorded during a 10 min period on supine position using a portable heart rate monitor (Polar® H10 model). The data were transferred into Kubios® HRV Standard analysis software and analyzed within the stable sessions containing 256 sequential RRi. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) ranged from 0.942 to 1.000 according to the intrarater analysis by Researcher 01 and 0.915 to 0.998 to the intrarater by Researcher 02. The interrater ICC ranged from 0.921 to 0.998. The coefficient of variation was up to 8.28 for Researcher 01 intrarater analysis, 9.06 for Researcher 02 intrarater analysis and 13.07 for interrater analysis. The measurement of HRV using a portable heart rate device in individuals with COPD present acceptable values of intra- and interrater reliability, supporting the use of HRV in the clinical and scientific scenario. Furthermore, it is important that the data analysis be performed by the same experienced evaluator.

Accurate state of health estimation for lithium-ion batteries under random charging scenarios

Accurate state of health (SOH) knowledge is critical for reliable operations of lithium-ion batteries. However, short-term random charging operations of lithium-ion batteries are not conducive to reliable SOH estimation. To solve it, a charging voltage prediction and machine learning based estimation are employed to supply precise estimation. Firstly, the correlated feature variables in terms of SOH are determined by analyzing the raw charging voltage distribution. Then, the wide range charging voltage is predicted via the constructed polynomials and short-term measures. Next, the extreme learning machine algorithm is employed to achieve online SOH estimation. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed voltage estimation method is verified at different aging cycles and different charging intervals, and the reliability of SOH estimation is investigated in the full lifetime range and at different state of charge (SOC) charging intervals. The experimental results manifest that the proposed method can supply reliable SOH estimation with the error of less than 2.02% based on only the short-term random charging scenarios, furnishing reliable and safe operation guideline for lithium-ion battery systems.

Multiple per-claim reinsurance based on maximizing the Lundberg exponent

In this paper, we consider the optimal per-claim reinsurance problem for an insurer who designs a reinsurance contract with multiple reinsurance participants. In contrast to using the value-at-risk as a short-term risk measure, we take the Lundberg exponent in risk theory as a risk measure for the insurer over a long-term horizon because the Lundberg upper bound performs better in measuring the infinite-time ruin probability. To reflect various risk preferences of the reinsurance participants, we adopt a type of combined premium principle in which the expected premium principle, variance premium principle, and exponential premium principle are all special cases. Based on maximization of the insurer's Lundberg exponent, the optimal reinsurance is formulated within a static setting, and we derive optimal multiple reinsurance strategies within a general admissible policies set. In general, these optimal strategies are shown to have non-piecewise linear structures, differing from conventional reinsurance strategies such as quota-share, excess-of-loss, or linear layer reinsurance arrangements. In some special cases, the optimal reinsurance strategies reduce to classical results.

Physiological Dysregulation in Children With and Without Externalizing Difficulties: Novel Insights From Intensive Longitudinal Data.

Extant research on physiological dysregulation in children has focused on point-in-time measures and absolute mean levels of physiology. However, these methods do not capture dynamic fluctuations in physiology that characterize dysregulation. In the present work, we aimed to assess whether physiological dysregulation as captured by fluctuations rather than mean levels would differentiate between children with and without clinically elevated levels of externalizing behavior. As an exploratory approach, we examined fluctuations in children's physiological responses (i.e., root mean square of successive differences [RMSSD] in beat-to-beat heart rate intervals) to social transgression scenarios across 15 short-term measurement occasions (5-second bins). Controlling for mean RMSSD, as well as emotional and cognitive correlates of externalizing behavior (i.e., sympathy and inhibitory control), children with externalizing difficulties exhibited greater within-person fluctuations in RMSSD (i.e., physiological dysregulation) compared to children without externalizing difficulties. The present findings provide preliminary support for using intensive longitudinal data comprised of short-term physiological measurements and point to the centrality of within-child physiological variability as a marker of dysregulation, particularly amongst children with externalizing disorders for whom self-regulation is a core challenge.

PGNAA Spectral Classification of Metal With Density Estimations

For environmental, sustainable economic and political reasons, recycling processes are becoming increasingly important, aiming at a much higher use of secondary raw materials. Currently, for the copper and aluminium industries, no method for the non-destructive online analysis of heterogeneous materials are available. The Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) has the potential to overcome this challenge. A difficulty when using PGNAA for online classification arises from the small amount of noisy data, due to short-term measurements. In this case, classical evaluation methods using detailed peak by peak analysis fail. Therefore, we propose to view spectral data as probability distributions. Then, we can classify material using maximum log-likelihood with respect to kernel density estimation and use discrete sampling to optimize hyperparameters. For measurements of pure aluminium alloys we achieve near perfect classification of aluminium alloys under 0.25 second.

Continuous Structural Displacement Monitoring Using Accelerometer, Vision, and Infrared (IR) Cameras.

With the rapid development of computer vision, vision cameras have been used as noncontact sensors for structural displacement measurements. However, vision-based techniques are limited to short-term displacement measurements because of their degraded performance under varying illumination and inability to operate at night. To overcome these limitations, this study developed a continuous structural displacement estimation technique by combining measurements from an accelerometer with vision and infrared (IR) cameras collocated at the displacement estimation point of a target structure. The proposed technique enables continuous displacement estimation for both day and night, automatic optimization of the temperature range of an infrared camera to ensure a region of interest (ROI) with good matching features, and adaptive updating of the reference frame to achieve robust illumination-displacement estimation from vision/IR measurements. The performance of the proposed method was verified through lab-scale tests on a single-story building model. The displacements were estimated with a root-mean-square error of less than 2 mm compared with the laser-based ground truth. In addition, the applicability of the IR camera for displacement estimation under field conditions was validated using a pedestrian bridge test. The proposed technique eliminates the need for a stationary sensor installation location by the on-site installation of sensors and is therefore attractive for long-term continuous monitoring. However, it only estimates displacement at the sensor installation location, and cannot simultaneously estimate multi-point displacements which can be achieved by installing cameras off-site.

The Global Forest Health Crisis: A Public-Good Social Dilemma in Need of International Collective Action.

Society is confronted by interconnected threats to ecological sustainability. Among these is the devastation of forests by destructive non-native pathogens and insects introduced through global trade, leading to the loss of critical ecosystem services and a global forest health crisis. We argue that the forest health crisis is a public-good social dilemma and propose a response framework that incorporates principles of collective action. This framework enables scientists to better engage policymakers and empowers the public to advocate for proactive biosecurity and forest health management. Collective action in forest health features broadly inclusive stakeholder engagement to build trust and set goals; accountability for destructive pest introductions; pooled support for weakest-link partners; and inclusion of intrinsic and nonmarket values of forest ecosystems in risk assessment. We provide short-term and longer-term measures that incorporate the above principles to shift the societal and ecological forest health paradigm to a more resilient state.

Pickleball Noise & Political Ploys: A Cape Cod Case Study

Pickleball is reportedly the fastest growing sport in America, increasing in participation nearly 40% from 2019 to 2021 according to one measure. With this rapid growth, many municipalities have repurposed existing outdoor tennis courts for use as pickleball courts with little consideration for the increase in noise pollution that often accompanies the change. In contrast to tennis, pickleball employs a solid paddle and hard plastic balls, generating frequent and distinctive noise impulses while in play. Additionally, the speed of play is typically faster with more impulses occurring more often, and courts can be denser, with two active pickleball courts fitting in the space of one tennis court. This study examines the noise measurements and ensuing politics of a case in Falmouth, MA, where the repurposed tennis courts were located as close as 25 feet from the property line of abutting residents. Short-term and long-term measurements were taken over a full day of activity and were largely evaluated to the Massachusetts Department of Environment Protection (MADEP) Noise Policy. In periods of high activity, it was found that paddle-ball impulses generated levels exceeding the MADEP criteria about once every two seconds on abutting properties.

Predicting Long-term Outcomes in Deceased Donor Kidney Transplant Recipients Using Three Short-term Graft Characteristics.

Delayed graft function (DGF) in kidney transplant recipients is used to determine graft prognosis, make organ utilization decisions, and as an important end-point in clinical trials. However, DGF is not an ideal measure of graft function. We aimed to develop and validate a model that provides incremental risk assessment for inferior patient and graft outcomes. We included adult kidney-only deceased donor transplant recipients from 1996 to 2016. In addition to DGF, two short-term measures were used to assess risk: renal function recovery<100% (attaining half the donor's eGFR) and recipient's 90-day eGFR<30. Recipients were at no-, low-, moderate- or high-risk if they met zero, one, two, or all criteria, respectively. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the independent relationship between the exposure and death-censored graft failure (DCGF) and mortality. Of the 792 eligible recipients, 24.5% experienced DGF, 40.5% had renal function recovery<100% and 6.9% had eGFR<30. Over a median follow-up of 7.3 years, the rate of DCGF was 18.7% and mortality was 25.1%. When compared with recipients at no risk, those at low-, moderate- and high-risk were noted to have an incremental increase in risk of DCGF (aHR=1.53, 95%CI:1.03-2.27; aHR=2.84, 95%CI:1.68-4.79; aHR=15.46, 95%CI:8.04-29.71) and mortality (aHR=1.16, 95%CI:0.84-1.58; aHR=1.85, 95%CI:1.13-3.07; aHR=2.66 (95%CI:1.19-5.97). When using a hierarchical approach, each additional exposure predicted the risk of DCGF better than DGF alone and 100 random bootstrap replications supported the internal validity of the risk model. In an external validation cohort deemed to be at lower risk for DCGF, similar non-significant trends were noted. We propose a risk model that provides an incremental assessment of recipients at higher risk of adverse long-term outcomes than DGF alone. This can help advance the field of risk assessment in transplantation and inform therapeutic decision-making in patients at the highest spectrum of inferior outcomes.

Predicting the spread of covid-19 and the impact of government measures at the early stage of the pandemic: The Dutch case-Stricter but short-term measures are better.

In this paper, we investigate the spread of COVID-19 and the impact of government measures at the early stage of the pandemic (before the introduction of the vaccines) in the Netherlands. We build a multiple linear regression model to predict the effective reproduction rate using key factors and measures and integrate it with a system dynamics model to predict the spread and the impact of measures against COVID-19. Data from February to November 2020 is used to train the model and data until December 2020 is used to validate the model. We use data about the key factors, e.g., disease specific such as basic reproduction rate and incubation period, weather related factors such as temperature, and controllable factors such as testing capacity. We consider particularly the following measures taken by the government: wearing facemasks, event allowance, school closure, catering services closure, and self-quarantine. Studying the strategy of the Dutch government, we control these measures by following four main policies: doing nothing, mitigation, curbing, elimination. We develop a systems dynamic model to simulate the effect of policies. Based on our numerical experiments, we develop the following main insights: It is more effective to implement strict, sharp measures earlier but for a shorter duration than to introduce measures gradually for a longer duration. This way, we can prevent a quick rise in the number of infected cases but also to reduce the number of days under measures. Combining the measures with a high testing capacity and with effective self-quarantine can significantly reduce the spread of COVID-19.