Slope Measurements Research Articles

Resting EEG power spectra across middle to late life: associations with age, cognition, APOE-ɛ4 carriage, and cardiometabolic burden

We investigated how resting electroencephalography (EEG) measures are associated with risk factors for late-life cognitive impairment and dementia, including age, apolipoprotein E ɛ4 (APOE-ɛ4) carriage, and cardiometabolic burden. Resting EEG was recorded from 86 adults (50–80 years of age). Participants additionally completed the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE) III and had blood drawn to assess APOE-ɛ4 carriage status and cardiometabolic burden. EEG power spectra were decomposed into sources of periodic and aperiodic activity to derive measures of aperiodic component slope and alpha (7–14 Hz) and beta (15–30 Hz) peak power and peak frequency. Alpha and beta peak power measures were corrected for aperiodic activity. The aperiodic component slope was correlated with ACE-III scores but not age. Alpha peak frequency decreased with age. Individuals with higher cardiometabolic burden had lower alpha peak frequencies and lower beta peak power. APOE-ɛ4 carriers had lower beta peak frequencies. Our findings suggest that the slope of the aperiodic component of resting EEG power spectra is more closely associated with measures of cognitive performance rather than chronological age in older adults.

Evaluation of Krueng Tripa River Capacity in Ujung Krueng Village, Nagan Raya Regency, Indonesia

Flood events are very common in the lowlands as often happens in Ujong Krueng Village, Tripa Makmur District. This study aims to determine the magnitude of the design flood discharge using the Nakayasu method and evaluating the cross-sectional capacity of the Krueng Tripa River in Ujong Krueng Village. The data used are both primary and secondary. Primary data consists of measurements of river slope, river flow velocity, river depth and river width, while secondary data consists of rainfall data, Krueng Tripa watershed maps and Krueng Tripa River situation maps. The results of the design flood discharge calculation using the Nakayasu method show that the 2-year return period (RP) is 3237.46 m3/s, the 5-year RP is 4389.53 m3/s, the 10-year RP is 5177.08 m3/s, the 10-year RP is 5177.08 m3/s, the 25-year RP is 6199.32 m3/s, the 50-year RP is 6979.04 m/s, and the 100-years RP is 7778.23 m3/s. From the results of hydraulic analysis on the section of the Krueng Tripa river in Ujong Krueng Village using the HEC-RAS 6.1.0 software, it shows that in the 2-year return period, on pias 1, 7 and 8 experienced overflows on both sides while on pias 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 only overflow on the right side. In the return periods of 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th - year and 100th, all the streams had overflowed, the highest overflow reached 4.84 m, while the lowest overflow reached 0.30 m.

Associations between EEG trajectories, family income, and cognitive abilities over the first two years of life

We sought to characterize developmental trajectories of EEG spectral power over the first 2 years after birth and examine whether family income or maternal education alter those trajectories. We analyzed EEGs (n = 161 infants, 534 EEGs) collected longitudinally between 2 and 24 months of age, and calculated frontal absolute power across 7 canonical frequency bands. For each frequency band, a piecewise growth curve model was fit, resulting in an estimated intercept and two slope parameters from 2 to 9 months and 9–24 months of age. Across 6/7 frequency bands, absolute power significantly increased over age, with steeper slopes in the 2–9 month period compared to 9–24 months. Increased family income, but not maternal education, was associated with higher intercept (2–3 month power) across delta–gamma bands (p range = 0.002–0.04), and reduced change in power between 2 and 9 months of age in lower frequency bands (delta-alpha, p range = 0.01–0.02). There was no significant effect of income on slope between 9 and 24 months. EEG intercept and slope measures did not mediate relationships between income and 24-month verbal and nonverbal development. These results add to growing literature concerning the role of socioeconomic factors in shaping brain trajectories.

Tungsten oxide-copper oxide supported on reduced graphene oxide as a proficient electrocatalyst with enhanced hydrogen evolution efficiency in an alkaline media

This study focuses on the production of hydrogen through electrocatalysis using a newly synthesized and characterized nano-hybrid composite based electrocatalyst. The electrocatalyst is composed of mixed metal oxides and reduced graphene oxide. The electrocatalysts were evaluated for their structural and morphological characteristics through the implementation of diverse characterization methodologies. The utilization of electrochemical methodologies, including linear sweep voltammetry, Tafel slope, and electrochemical active surface area measurements, provided valuable information regarding the catalytic efficiency and effectiveness of the electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction. The findings indicate that the electrocatalyst WO3–CuO/rGO demonstrated exceptional catalytic efficiency, as evidenced by a current density of 200 mA/cm2 at an overpotential of −400 mV, a Tafel slope of 44 mVdec−1, and low charge transfer resistance. Additionally, the chronoamperometric analysis exhibited the electrocatalyst's durability, highlighting its potential for practical implementations.

Design and Build a Website-Based Landslide Early Warning System

An early warning system is very important to implement to minimize losses received when a disaster occurs, one of which is a landslide disaster. An early warning system for landslides is carried out so that people can find out the signs of a disaster that can be accessed anywhere, so they can prepare themselves. For this reason, a tool is needed that can detect and provide early warning of landslides to the public which can be accessed through the website. In this study, a website-based landslide detector has been designed using a soil moisture sensor to measure it and the MPU6050 sensor to measure the slope of the soil. Sensor data will be displayed on the LCD and sent to the database and can be monitored through the website. The avalanche detector made is powered by a 15 V DC battery to provide 5V output to the NodeMCU ESP8266. Soil moisture sensor, MPU6050, LCD I2C, LED, and relay work at 5V. A Relay is used to turn on the siren at 12V voltage. Based on our research, the soil moisture measurement value between the sensor and the comparison device is around 1.55% and the soil slope measurement value between the sensor and measuring tool is around 0.14%, these two factors influence each other. The measurement error is still fairly normal according to the soil moisture sensor datasheet and MPU6050, which are ±3% together

A Framework for Estimating Global River Discharge From the Surface Water and Ocean Topography Satellite Mission

AbstractThe Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will vastly expand measurements of global rivers, providing critical new data sets for both gaged and ungaged basins. SWOT discharge products (available approximately 1 year after launch) will provide discharge for all river that reaches wider than 100 m. In this paper, we describe how SWOT discharge produced and archived by the US and French space agencies will be computed from measurements of river water surface elevation, width, and slope and ancillary data, along with expected discharge accuracy. We present for the first time a complete estimate of the SWOT discharge uncertainty budget, with separate terms for random (standard error) and systematic (bias) uncertainty components in river discharge time series. We expect that discharge uncertainty will be less than 30% for two‐thirds of global reaches and will be dominated by bias. Separate river discharge estimates will combine both SWOT and in situ data; these “gage‐constrained” discharge estimates can be expected to have lower systematic uncertainty. Temporal variations in river discharge time series will be dominated by random error and are expected to be estimated within 15% for nearly all reaches, allowing accurate inference of event flow dynamics globally, including in ungaged basins. We believe this level of accuracy lays the groundwork for SWOT to enable breakthroughs in global hydrologic science.

Satellite remote sensing of river discharge: a framework for assessing the accuracy of discharge estimates made from satellite remote sensing observations

This research presents an evaluation of the accuracy and uncertainty of estimates of river discharge made using satellite observed data sources as input to a modified form of Manning’s equation. Conventional U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow gaging station data and in-situ measurements of width, depth, height, slope, discharge, and velocity from 30 USGS gage sites were used as ground-truth to assess accuracy. This study explores accuracy in relation to the amount of ground truth information available, the number of calibration points available, and the accuracy of the input data. This research indicates that remotely sensed discharge estimates associated with the modified Manning equation may be expected to have an uncertainty in range of 10% overall given a sufficient number of calibration points. The uncertainty associated with the modified Manning algorithm increased markedly for depths <3 meters (m) and for discharges <1000 cubic meters per second (m3 / s) for many rivers after calibration. Rivers that exhibit (1) a wide range of flow conditions, (2) a significant number of dams in the watershed and along the channel, and (3) a high baseflow index are more likely to have relatively large errors overall and particularly at the low end of the streamflow range. Uncertainty in remotely sensed measurements of water-surface elevation (WSE) and width in the expected range (WSE, + / − 10 cm; Width, + / − 15 m) introduces uncertainty in the discharge estimates on the order of 10% and is greatest at the low end of discharge as rivers get shallower and narrower. As WSE and width measurement uncertainty increases, discharge uncertainty increases accordingly. In general, the observation errors are greater than the errors associated with the algorithm for a well-calibrated model (e.g., 20 calibration points).

Continuous Monitoring of Transmission Lines Sag through Angular Measurements Performed with Wireless Sensors

High voltage transmission lines are crucial infrastructure that are demanded to supply an increasing request of electric energy. In the design and operations stages, sag represents a key parameter which must respect specific constraints. Therefore, sag continuous monitoring is becoming essential to guarantee the correct functioning of the line and to optimize the current flow. Different solutions have been proposed in literature, but they are still lacking efficiency and reliability to be used during operations. In this work, a simple and efficient method, based on conductor parabolic approximation, is developed and used to compute the sag through the measurement of the conductor slope in proximity of the span extremities. The angular measurements are obtained using wireless sensors equipped with MEMS accelerometers developed by authors and employed for HVTL conductor vibration monitoring. The proposed method and its implementation in the monitoring system was tested in a laboratory environment on a real conductor. The values of sag at different tensile loads have been obtained and compared to the measured ones, with satisfactory results according to the accelerometer resolution. The solution developed therefore represents a complete and innovative tool to be adopted in the field to monitor, in real time, both the sag and the level of vibration due to the wind action, allowing to increase the performance reliability of HVTL.

Projected-field kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Cross-correlations: halo model and forecasts

The kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect, i.e., the Doppler boost of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons caused by their scattering off free electrons in galaxy clusters and groups with non-zero bulk velocity, is a powerful window on baryons in the universe. We present the first halo-model computation of the cross-power spectrum of the “projected-field” kSZ signal with large-scale structure (LSS) tracers. We compare and validate our calculations against previous studies, which relied on N-body-calibrated effective formulas rather than the halo model. We forecast results for CMB maps from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (AdvACT), Simons Observatory (SO), and CMB-S4, and LSS survey data from the Dark Energy Survey, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory (VRO), and Euclid. In cross-correlation with galaxy number density, for AdvACT × unWISE we forecast an 18σ projected-field kSZ detection using data already in hand. Combining SO CMB maps and unWISE galaxy catalogs, we expect a 62σ detection, yielding precise measurements of the gas density profile radial slopes. Additionally, we forecast first detections of the kSZ — galaxy weak lensing cross-correlation with AdvACT × VRO/Euclid (at 6σ) and of the kSZ — CMB weak lensing cross-correlation with SO (at 16σ). Finally, ≈ 10-20% precision measurements of the shape of the gas density profile should be possible with CMB-S4 kSZ — CMB lensing cross-correlation without using any external datasets.

Study on the electric resistance method in crack depth measurements

Obtaining geometric parameters, especially depth, and describing the morphological characteristics of cracks are of great significance to control engineering disasters and accidents caused by cracks. The electric resistance method is based on the principle of differences in electrical properties between cracks and soil, which could be used to measure the single crack depth at project sites. There exists an Rmin value corresponding to a specific electrode distance d value at each Rf-d value obtained by laboratory experiments. Furthermore, a two-dimensional finite element model of soil with a single crack is established to carry out numerical simulation analysis considering the crack width W, crack depth D and complex crack conditions. The results reveal dynamic variation rules of soil resistance after crack development, and for each Rf-d value, the electrode distance d value corresponding to the Rmin value is approximately equal to the crack depth D. In the range of the electric field, the offset and rotation of the crack have little effect, while the measurement results have a strong dependence on relocation movement. The regulation gives guidance to the inversion analysis of crack depth D at project sites and has been applied in crack depth measurements of an expansive soil slope. The electric resistance method as a proposed integrated approach is of great significance and brings new perspectives into the study of crack depth measurements for field applications.

Development and verification of the signal to noise ratio for a layer of turbulence in a multi-layer atmosphere.

Wide-field image correction in systems that look through the atmosphere generally requires a tomographic reconstruction of the turbulence volume to compensate for anisoplanatism. The reconstruction is conditioned by estimating the turbulence volume as a profile of thin homogeneous layers. We present the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of a layer, which quantifies how difficult a single layer of homogeneous turbulence is to detect with wavefront slope measurements. The signal is the sum of wavefront tip and tilt variances at the signal layer, and the noise is the sum of wavefront tip and tilt auto-correlations given the aperture shape and projected aperture separations at all non-signal layers. An analytic expression for layer SNR is found for Kolmogorov and von Kármán turbulence models, then verified with a Monte Carlo simulation. We show that the Kolmogorov layer SNR is a function of only layer Fried length, the spatio-angular sampling of the system, and normalized aperture separation at the layer. In addition to these parameters, the von Kármán layer SNR also depends on aperture size, and layer inner and outer scales. Due to the infinite outer scale, layers of Kolmogorov turbulence tend to have lower SNR than von Kármán layers. We conclude that the layer SNR is a statistically valid performance metric to be used when designing, simulating, operating, and quantifying the performance of any system that measures properties of layers of turbulence in the atmosphere from slope data.

The COVID-19 risk in the cross-section of equity options

We use the implied volatility slope measures derived from US stock options to examine the impact of COVID-19 risk on the options market. The severity of COVID-19 is measured by the number of new confirmed cases. We find that equity options that are most sensitive to COVID-19 generate a more positive IV slope than less COVID-19-sensitive equity options. Moreover, this measure is more positive and significant during the lockdown period. Our findings suggest that the hedging cost of downside tail risk is more expensive during the high-uncertainty period, the time when COVID-19 is more intensive.

Knee anatomic geometry accurately predicts risk of anterior cruciate ligament rupture.

Certain anatomical characteristics of the knee have potential relationships with the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture. There remains a need for stronger evidence using arthroscopy as well as radiological imaging to accurately clarify these relationships. To compare the anatomic geometry of the knee joint between patients with and without ACL ruptures. Case-controlled study of patients with arthroscopically confirmed ACL ruptures (ACL group) compared to patients with arthroscopically confirmed normal ACLs (control group). Magnetic resonance imaging scans were assessed for a total of 14 quantitative radiological variables including medial and lateral tibial slope angles (bone and cartilage measurements), meniscal height, femoral width, intercondylar notch width and tibial depth. A total of 105 patients were included in the study, 55 in the ACL group and 50 in the control group. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) of most of the radiological measurements between the two groups. There was also a significant difference (P < 0.05) when comparing the variables between sexes. Multiple logistic regression analysis produced a mathematical model utilizing all the radiological measurements with 92.6% classification accuracy in predicating an ACL rupture with the medial tibial slope angle being the strongest predicator variable (odds ratio = 8.97, P = 0.011). Greater postero-inferior directed slope measurements of bone and cartilage in both the lateral and medial compartments with a narrower intercondylar notch width increase the risk of ACL rupture. Mathematical modelling can accurately predict the risk of ACL rupture.

A Study on The Wireless Remote Safety Measurement Device for Structures based on Multi-Waterproof Sensors

Recently, as the need for constant safety management increases due to collapse accidents caused by external displacement of buildings, it is necessary to manufacture a construction ground gradient meter and serial open information technology (IT) sensor that can be monitored wirelessly based on epoxy resins, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes, and communication cables. In particular, waterproof performance is required for ground monitoring of underground spaces with water, and for this purpose, research was also conducted to double mold the inside of the incline system. Construction IT convergence's building slope measurement device technology can respond to safety accidents by checking the amount of change in building displacement through a real-time online monitoring system. In addition, it is an industry with various application markets by converging IT technology into the existing construction industry and can be used as a pre-quake detection monitoring system for structural collapse accidents caused by external displacement. Therefore, it is intended to secure a sustainable facility safety management system through research in the field of real-time measurement technology on various facilities and surrounding ground behavior.

A comparison of interaural asymmetry, audiogram slope, and psychometric measures of tinnitus, hyperacusis, anxiety and depression for patients with unilateral and bilateral tinnitus

Objective To evaluate differences in tinnitus impact, hyperacusis and hearing threshold level (HTL) between patients with unilateral and bilateral tinnitus. For patients with unilateral tinnitus, to compare audiological variables for the tinnitus ear and the non-tinnitus ear. To assess whether the presence of unilateral tinnitus increases the likelihood of interaural hearing asymmetry (relative to bilateral tinnitus) that warrants referral for an MRI scan. Design Retrospective cross-sectional. Study Sample Data regarding HTLs and responses to self-report questionnaires were collected from the records of 311 patients attending a tinnitus clinic. Results 38.5% had unilateral tinnitus and the ears with tinnitus had higher HTLs and greater HTL slopes than the ears without tinnitus. There was no significant difference in tinnitus impact and hyperacusis between patients with unilateral and bilateral tinnitus. 40% of patients with unilateral tinnitus and 13% of patients with bilateral tinnitus had a between-ear difference in HTL ≥15 dB at two adjacent frequencies (2AF15 asymmetry). Unilateral tinnitus increased the risk of 2AF15 asymmetry by a factor of 4.4. Conclusions Unilateral tinnitus increases the risk of having interaural asymmetry in HTLs that warrants referral for an MRI scan.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for slope mapping at Perumahan Gambang Damai, Pahang: a case study

This paper discusses the applications of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for slope mapping and its important parameters including perimeter, area and volume of certain selected areas at Perumahan Taman Gambang Damai in Kuantan Pahang. Previous work of slope mapping using traditional survey equipment considered as time consuming and very challenging especially in hilly regions. This study also focused on determining the potential slope hazard based on slope angle. Modern UAV able to take high quality image which essential for the effectiveness and nature of normal mapping output such as Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Digital Orthophoto. These photos captured by the UAV will later exported to Agisoft to generate full map of study area. With the help of Global Mapper, the measurement such as perimeter, area and volume of selected study areas can be determined easily and considered as the main interest in this study. Based on the results of the two slopes (slope A and slope B), slope B give a bigger volume which is 1469.7 m3 compare to slope A which is 1382.9 m3. The enclosed area for slope A is 1634.3 m2 which is bigger compare to slope B which is 766.86 m2. Besides, the perimeter of slope A is 162.28 m which is bigger compare to slope B which is 159.45 m. In addition, another outcome of this study is, this modern method of mapping helps researchers and engineers to study the possibility of slope hazard based on their respective slope angle. From the results, the angle for slope A is 47.35. while the angle for slope B is 54.75. . Both of the slopes considered as very steep slope. In conclusion, modern technology of UAV proves to be very effective for mapping in geotechnical engineering. Slope mapping using multi-rotor UAV help researchers and engineers to obtain slope measurement within short period of time compare to previous traditional method.

Deep learning assisted plenoptic wavefront sensor for direct wavefront detection.

Traditional plenoptic wavefront sensors (PWFS) suffer from the obvious step change of the slope response, leading to poor wavefront detection performance. In order to solve this problem, in this paper, a deep learning model is proposed to restore phase maps directly from slope measurements of PWFS. Numerical simulations are employed to demonstrate our approach, and the statistical residual wavefront root mean square error (RMSE) of our method is 0.0810 ± 0.0258λ, which is much superior to those of modal algorithm (0.2511 ± 0.0587λ) and zonal approach (0.3584 ± 0.0487λ). The internal driving force of PWFS-ResUnet is investigated, and the slope response differences between sub-apertures and directions are considered as a probably key role to help our model to accurately restore the phase map. Additionally, the robustness of our model to turbulence strength and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) level is also tested. The proposed method provides a new direction to solve the nonlinear problem of traditional PWFS.

Technical note: Noninvasive monitoring of normal tissue radiation damage using spectral quantitative ultrasound spectroscopy.

While radiation therapy (RT) is a critical component of breast cancer therapy and is known to decrease overall local recurrence rates, recent studies have shown that normal tissue radiation damage may increase recurrence risk. Fibrosis is a well-known consequence of RT, but the specific sequence of molecular and mechanical changes induced by RT remains poorly understood. To improve cancer therapy outcomes, there is a need to understand the role of the irradiated tissue microenvironment in tumor recurrence. This study seeks to evaluate the use of spectral quantitative ultrasound (spectral QUS) for real time determination of the normal tissue characteristic radiation response and to correlate these results to molecular features in irradiated tissues. Murine mammary fat pads (MFPs) were irradiated to 20Gy, and spectral QUS was used to analyze tissue physical properties pre-irradiation as well as at 1, 5, and 10 days post-irradiation. Tissues were processed for scanning electron microscopy imaging as well as histological and immunohistochemical staining to evaluate morphology and structure. Tissue morphological and structural changes were observed non-invasively following radiation using mid-band fit (MBF), spectral slope (SS), and spectral intercept (SI) measurements obtained from spectral QUS. Statistically significant shifts in MBF and SI indicate structural tissue changes in real time, which matched histological observations. Radiation damage was indicated by increased adipose tissue density and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. Our findings demonstrate the potential of using spectral QUS to noninvasively evaluate normal tissue changes resulting from radiation damage. This supports further pre-clinical studies to determine how the tissue microenvironment and physical properties change in response to therapy, which may be important for improving treatment strategies.

Infiltration holes enhance the deep soil water replenishment from a level ditch on the Loess Plateau of China

AbstractThe introduction of exotic plants with high‐water consumption and high‐density planting have greatly changed the deep soil water environment on the Loess Plateau of China. Slope measures can intercept runoff to change slope soil water redistribution, however, the existing measures are not enough to improve deep soil water replenishment. Infiltration holes were used as a supplement of the existing slope measures. In this study, the effects of three different measures (the control without any measures, the level ditch, and the combination of level ditch and infiltration hole) on slope runoff and deep soil water redistribution were evaluated under field conditions. The results showed that the combined measure reduced the runoff by 44.1% and the sediments by 78.6% under an intense rainfall event compared with the control. After two rainy seasons, compared with the control and the level ditch, the combined measures significantly increased the soil water storage below 50 cm in the soil layer. Combining infiltration hole with level ditch improved the deep soil water replenishment within 30 cm from infiltration hole in a horizontal plane. Overall, the single‐level ditch was insufficient to improve deep soil water replenishment, and the combined measure can more effectively intercept runoff to increase the water replenishment of deep soils. Our findings provide a new thinking in regulating and utilizing slope runoff to effectively improve deep soil water replenishment in arid and semiarid areas.

Comprehensive, Continuous, and Vertical Measurements of Seawater Constituents with Triple-Field-of-View High-Spectral-Resolution Lidar.

Measuring the characteristics of seawater constituent is in great demand for studies of marine ecosystems and biogeochemistry. However, existing techniques based on remote sensing or insitu samplings present various tradeoffs with regard to the diversity, synchronism, temporal-spatial resolution, and depth-resolved capacity of their data products. Here, we demonstrate a novel oceanic triple-field-of-view (FOV) high-spectral-resolution lidar (HSRL) with an iterative retrieval approach. This technique provides, for the first time, comprehensive, continuous, and vertical measurements of seawater absorption coefficient, scattering coefficient, and slope of particle size distribution, which are validated by simulations and field experiments. Furthermore, it depicts valuable application potentials in the accuracy improvement of seawater classification and the continuous estimation of depth-resolved particulate organic carbon export. The triple-FOV HSRL with high performance could greatly increase the knowledge of seawater constituents and promote the understanding of marine ecosystems and biogeochemistry.