Zone Of Influence Research Articles

COASTAL TERRITORY AND COASTAL ZONE: DEFINITION, CHARACTERISTICS, URBAN DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of this publication is to define the terms «coastal territory» and «coastal zone» from the point of view of their urban planning use, because the current legislative documents, normative sources, scientific articles, which raise the problems of development and preservation of coastal territories, do not give their clear interpretation. As a natural phenomenon, the river and its coastal territory are an interdependent river ecosystem, which is a complex dynamic complex with paradynamic connections, where the exchange of substances, energy, and information takes place. The general boundary and configuration of the coastal territory is determined according to the maximum value of the influence of the river, taking into account its engineering and geological, microclimatic and spatial planning criteria. From the point of view of urban planning, the coastal area is a natural reserve of the urban fabric, which has a favorable potential for the formation of coastal zones in order to create a comfortable and safe urban environment. The coastal zone is a part of the coastal territory and water area with regulated and unregulated economic activity, the functional purpose of which is the organization of a favorable environment for the life of the population in the zone of influence of the reservoir. Almost all coastal areas are favorable for urban development - the difference exists in the degree of complexity and cost of urban development of coastal areas, their transformation into coastal zones. The urban planning assessment of the coastal zone for the organization of a favorable and comfortable environment for people's stay here is a complex of engineering-geological, architectural-compositional, sanitary-ecological and economic assessments. The choice of techniques for the development of the coastal zone should be based on the principles of the formation of an expressive architectural and planning development, improvement of the urban microclimate, the formation of convenient public space and landscaped and recreational areas. It is unacceptable to build up the coastal zone with capital structures of the industrial area, with the exception of water management facilities, and the laying of transit main streets here. The functional purpose of coastal zones may change over time. An assessment of the natural factors of coastal areas in relation to the degree of favorability of urban development of coastal areas and an assessment of coastal landscapes in relation to their functional purpose is given. It is noted that the main defining features of the coastal area, among many factors, are the geomorphological structure and microclimate. The transformation of Kyiv's Dnieper embankment has been traced: starting from the 5th century, after passing through 4 main periods of formation due to the arrangement and beautification of the coastal zone, the Podil embankment today has lost its function as a public space. The transformation of the coastal zone of Kyiv into a center of limited elite housing and a transport corridor is an impoverishment of the life of the city, the loss of an important urban area. The development of coastal areas, as a natural potential in cities, should be carried out within the limits of current legislation and taking into account environmental norms to create a favorable urban environment.

Study on the Impact Law of V-Shaped Gully Debris Avalanches on Double-Column Piers

The concrete piers in steep mountain areas are highly susceptible to damage disasters due to the impact of debris avalanches, which pose a serious threat to the safe operation of bridge structures. In order to investigate the impact load characteristics of debris avalanches on bridge pier structures in V-shaped valley mountain areas, Particle Flow Code 3D (PFC3D) models based on a discrete element method were applied in this study to establish a full-scale three-dimensional model of a debris avalanche in a V-shaped valley. By installing double-column piers in the influence zone of the debris avalanche, the impact force, accumulation morphology, motion characteristics of debris particles, internal force response of the double-column piers, and impact energy indicators were investigated. In addition, parameters such as the layout position of the piers and the impact angle of the debris were studied. The results showed that the particles at the front edge of the debris avalanche have a significant impact on the magnitude and distribution of the impact force on the piers. It is important to consider the layout position of the piers and the impact angle of the debris when designing bridge pier structures in high, steep mountain areas. There was a significant difference in the movement patterns between the particles at the front and rear edges of the landslide. The particles at the front edge had a higher velocity and stronger impact, while the particles at the rear edge had a slower velocity and were more likely to be obstructed by bridge piers, leading to accumulation. The obstruction effect of the piers on the debris particles was closely related to their positioning and the impact angle. Piers that were closer to the center of the valley and had a larger impact angle have a more significant obstruction effect, and the topography of the valley had a significant focusing effect on the debris avalanche, resulting in a greater impact force and energy on the piers located closer to the center of the valley. The impact force amplitude and duration of landslide debris on bridge piers showed a significant difference between the bottom and upper piers, as well as between the piers on the upstream and downstream sides. These research findings can provide valuable references for the design and disaster assessment of bridge piers for impact prevention in steep slopes and mountainous areas with deep ravines.

АВТОМАТИЗИРОВАННАЯ ОЦЕНКА ЗОН ВОЗДЕЙСТВИЯ ОПАСНЫХ ФАКТОРОВ ПОЖАРА ПРИ РАЗЛИВЕ СЖИЖЕННОГО ПРИРОДНОГО ГАЗА В УСЛОВИЯХ ЧРЕЗВЫЧАЙНОЙ СИТУАЦИИ

The main stages of the development of an emergency situation during the bottling of liquefied natural gas are presented. A tree of events has been formed in the event of the occurrence and development of a fire hazardous situation associated with the destruction of a tank or process pipeline with liquefied natural gas. Possible regimes of liquefied natural gas spreading on a smooth underlying surface and the formation of a variable power vapor source are identified. Models of liquefied natural gas evaporation are studied in relation to the composition and possible thickness of the filling layer. It is shown that under the assumption that the two phases are in thermodynamic equilibrium. The vapor phase density of liquefied natural gas can be obtained by solving the Peng-Robinson equation using the Klosek-McKinley method for a given pressure and temperature, which is based on an empirical correlation for the molar volume of the liquefied natural gas mixture. A model of a fast phase transition is formed based on the solution of the Van den Berg equation and an algorithm that automates the procedure for assessing the zones of influence of dangerous fire factors during an liquefied natural gas spill.

After 1788*

Abstract Contemporary contact languages used by Indigenous people in Australia share many words and grammatical features and structures. I trace the development of contact varieties in Australia between 1788 to 1848, arguing that their similarities arise from the dominance of English-speakers among the invaders, their ways of talking to people who did not speak English fluently, the transfer of people between penal settlements, and the fact that sea traffic was the fastest form of travel between colonies. Evidence for zones of influence in which particular features appear is drawn from geographic distribution and time of first attestation. I use four types of reports for locating features: outsiders’ reports of direct speech by Aborigines and of outsiders’ speech to Aborigines, imitations by outsiders of Aboriginal speech, and outsiders’ comments on Aboriginal speech. Another kind of evidence comes from the adoption of contact variety words into Aboriginal languages. This is illustrated with a case study of words for ‘white woman’ in Aboriginal languages.

Temporal and Spatial Thermal Performance of A Ground Heat Exchanger in Response to Bridge Solar Recharging and Deicing Operations: A Pilot Full-Scale Study

A full-scale mock-up geothermal bridge was built in Texas, USA, to evaluate the field performance of a novel external geothermal bridge de-icing system. The geothermal bridge system comprises a single U-loop ground heat exchanger (GHE) 131 m deep, a geothermal heat pump, four circulation pumps, and hydronic heating loops attached to the bridge deck. A comprehensive monitoring system was implemented to monitor the spatial ground temperature response. The geothermal bridge system was operated and monitored for solar collector and bridge de-icing operations totaling 99 days between August 2019 and April 2020. An average heat injection of 5.7 W/m was observed during the solar collector operation. Based on the defined control volume, approximately 48.9–380.8 kWh of energy, corresponding to 3.7-28.5% of the total injected energy, was available at the end of the solar-collector operation. Moreover, test results showed that 31.7-39.4% of stored thermal energy was preserved for utilization in the first winter de-icing test. The radius of the influence zone of the GHE operation was found to be 3.45 m. The outcome of the field experimental studies and further data collection performed over a year of operations showed that the heat injection into the soil by bridge solar collector was 54% more effective than heat extraction from the ground during the several de-icing tests performed from 2019 to 2020. 

Personalistic overtones in the realization of Enlightenment ideas (based on the history of the Illuminati Order)

The article considers one of the lines of understanding and realization of Enlightenment ideas, due to the peculiarities of the New European personality. A personality is an individual acting independently and therefore forced to build a world and private self-image that partially does not coincide with the generally accepted ones. Kant associates these features precisely with Enlightenment, with the competence to use one's mind without guidance from someone else. Two social institutions are considered, the young nation-state and the Catholic Church, striving to put the individual, Society and communities under their control and management. The author suggests that society and communities were created in response to the pressure and expansion of these social institutions. The similarities and differences of social institutions and communities represented by unions and orders are analyzed. The relations between these three subjects and social forces (institutions of church and state, Society and communities) were quite tense, there was a struggle between them, the result of which, on the one hand, was the demarcation and separation of zones of influence, on the other hand, the suppression of the enemy, which often turned out to be Society, communities and the individual. In this context, according to the author, a conspiracy discourse is emerging, which the closer to our time, the more it is used against communities and individuals. This struggle within the institutions of the state and the church, as well as in art, is illustrated by the example of the history of the Illuminati. The activities of the Illuminati and other Orders (communities) were directed by a New European personality who, as Kant wrote, aspired to adulthood, which was in contradiction with the desire of the state and the Catholic Church to direct and control the mind and actions of a person. The author believes that the confrontation of the individual, Society and communities with the state and its institutions persists in our time. Of course, we are talking about a certain type of personality, so to speak, Kantian, and not any; there are individuals and communities that support the state.

Fertigation frequency is a useful tool for nitrate management in intensive open-field agriculture

The main source of nitrogen for most cultivated plants is nitrate. Agriculture has overused this nutrient, resulting in serious environmental problems in various parts of the world. The common practice in open intensive horticultural fields with clay-loam soils with a high water retention capacity (e.g., high percentage of clay) is to irrigate two to four times per week. Technically and logistically, this is much easier than one or more irrigation events per day. However, the loss of nutrients and water below the root zone may occur, with the consequent loss of efficiency. In this work, two cultivation cycles in an open-field endive crop were carried out under plastic soil mulching. We compared three fertigation strategies based on different frequencies of fertigation events; low fertigation frequency (LF, two to three fertigation events per week that simulates common farmer practice), medium fertigation frequency (MF, one fertigation event per day), and high fertigation frequency (HF, three fertigation events per day). The three fertigation strategies applied equal water and fertilizers doses per week. The high fertigation frequency increased volumetric water content in the upper soil profile, while the low fertigation frequency in the lower soil profile. The results demonstrated that HF fertigation increases shoot fresh weight (harvest yield) by increasing shoot water content, but did not improve shoot nutrient uptake or nitrogen nutritional status. The important finding, from the environment point of view, is that high and medium fertigation frequencies decreased nitrate concentration in the root influence zone, where it may be prone to leaching due to heavy rain events.

The Influence of Surrounding Arable Fields on the Species Diversity and Composition of Isolated Mountain Mesic Grassland Patches

This study aimed to determine the impact of arable fields on the diversity and species composition of isolated meadow patches of the order Arrhenatheretalia. The study was conducted in the Sowie Mountains and the adjacent hills (SW Poland). The species composition of the vegetation was analyzed along transects designated from the edge up to 33 m into the meadow patches. The species composition varied significantly in zones directly affected by arable fields, proving their strong negative impact on the vegetation of the mesic grasslands examined. The highest values of the diversity index were recorded 9 m away from the edge, while the lowest values were found in the direct influence zone of arable fields—2 m from the edge. In the case of apophytes, synanthropic species of local origin, the lowest values were recorded within 1 m and the highest values were recorded within 9 m. A significant change in the percentage of graminoids and dicotyledonous herbs was found between 9 m and 33 m from the edge. The study found no significant differences in habitat parameters measured with ecological indicators. Species of the Artemisietea vulgaris class effectively penetrate deep into grassland patches and can visibly degrade their vegetation.

Hazards and influence factors of arsenic in the upper pleistocene aquifer, Hetao region, using machine learning modeling

The Hetao region is one of the regions with the most serious problem of the greatest measured arsenic concentrations in China. The enrichment of arsenic in groundwater may poses a great risk to the health of local residents. A comprehensive understanding of the groundwater quality, spatial distribution characteristics and hazard of the high arsenic in groundwater is indispensable for the sustainable utilization of groundwater resources and resident health. This study selected six environmental factors, climate, human activity, sedimentary environment, hydrogeology, soil, and others, as the independent input variables to the model, compared three machine learning algorithms (support vector machine, extreme gradient boosting, and random forest), and mapped unsafe arsenic to estimate the population that may be exposed to unhealthy conditions in the Hetao region. The results show that nearly half the number of the 605 sampling wells for arsenic exceeded the WHO provisional guide value for drinking water, the water chemistry of groundwater are mainly Na-HCO3-Cl or Na-Mg-HCO3-Cl type water, and the groundwater with excessive arsenic concentration is mainly concentrated in the ancient stream channel influence zone and the Yellow River crevasse splay. The results of factor importance explanation revealed that the sedimentary environment was the key factor affecting the primary high arsenic groundwater concentration, followed by climate and human activities. The random forest algorithm produced the probability distribution of high arsenic groundwater that is consistent with the observed results. The estimated area of groundwater with excessive arsenic reached 38.81 %. An estimated 940,000 people could be exposed to high arsenic in groundwater.

RELATIONS BETWEEN AGRICULTURAL AND NON-AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES ON FARMS LOCATED IN THE KRAKOW METROPOLITAN AREA

The aim of the article is to assess the impact of non-agricultural activities conducted by a farmer on his agricultural activity. The subject of the research were various forms of economic activity developed on agricultural farms located in communes in the urbanized area of the Krakow Metropolitan Area. Field research was conducted in 2020-2022 among entrepreneurs and municipal councilors of randomly selected 21 territorial units. As a result of increasing urbanization and increasingly stronger suburbanization, contemporary transformations of urban spaces have changed the relationship between metropolitan cores and their surroundings. The transfer of metropolitan functions to the suburban zone is increasingly changing the conditions and possibilities of shaping spatial systems, including rural areas. Owners of farms located in the zones of direct influence of large cities attempt to de-agriculturalize their business or make efforts to diversify it. The relationship between agriculture and non-agricultural economic activity in entities operating in the metropolitan area is thought-provoking. The research results have shown that in most cases, non-agricultural activities have a destructive impact on the agricultural production of farms located in Krakow’s impact zones.

Magnetoelastic effect of kimberlite host rocks (Yakutsk diamondiferous province)

The purpose of the research is to conduct petro- and paleomagnetic studies of Early Paleozoic rocks of the carbonate basement of a number of diamond deposits in the Yakutsk diamondiferous province in order to study the changes in petrophysical parameter values in the dynamic influence zone of a kimberlite pipe. It is shown that the formation of kimberlite diatremes accompanied by pulsating explosions shifting upwards brings about thermoelastic stress fields in the kimberlite-bearing medium, which are characterized by epigenetic changes and associated petrophysical heterogeneities (petrophysical anomalies). Petromagnetic heterogeneities of burning and stress are, therefore, some of these petrophysical anomalies, within which kimberlite-bearing rocks have contrastingly changed their original magnetic characteristics under the action of thermodynamic processes. Primarily, petromagnetic anomalies are reflected in the changed nature of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility: from sedimentary to dyke geotype. In addition, petromagnetic anomalies of magnetic susceptibility can be accompanied by the formation of metachronous natural residual magnetization vectors in kimberlite host rocks. The dimensions of petromagnetic anomalies (petromagnetic heterogeneities) may significantly exceed the size of the kimberlite pipe itself, which facilitates identification and delineation of the most promising areas. Besides, the magnetoelastic effect can create zones close to the kimberlite bodies that are hardly permeable for relatively viscous, protocrystal-rich mafic magmas. This is the reason for their wedging out along petrophysical barriers that is presented by splitting into thin tongues, formation of trap-free windows and corridors, toroidal shafts with sharply increasing thickness in intrusions, etc. Having relatively elevated values of magnetic and density parameters, such forms of igneous formations will be reflected in the observed geophysical fields. Thus, it is reasonable to consider petromagnetic anomalies as an important petrophysical search criterion for the detection of bedrock kimberlite bodies.

Individual-level activity-based modeling and indicators for assessing construction sites noise exposure in urban areas

Construction site noise significantly contributes to urban noise pollution. To accurately assess the noise exposure from urban construction sites, it is essential to consider the variability and dynamic nature of the urban context. This paper proposes an innovative approach using individual-level activity-based modeling to tackle the given challenge. The methodology introduced encompasses: the modeling of construction site noise emission sources, individual-level activity-based modeling of zone of influences, a modeling chain for assessing individual noise exposure levels, and a novel dedicated exposure indicator. To illustrate the relevance of our methodology, a case study is conducted in Champigny-sur-Marne, France; this study involves the generation of a synthetic population of 1,344,394 individuals distributed among 591,153 households, with 4,854,597 associated activities, using the Eqasim simulation framework. A traffic model is then established using the multi-agent transport simulation software MATSim. NoiseModelling software is employed to compute noise maps both with and without the construction site. Subsequently, the noise exposure for each individual is assessed throughout the day for both configurations. Thanks to this complete modeling chain, the proposed indicator quantifying the cumulative amount of time of exposure above a given threshold can be compute, with the case study result being estimated at more than 3,300 person.quarter-hours above 65 dB(A).

Factors and prerequisites for the formation of transboundary specially protected natural areas in the Russian‐Kazakhstan region

Aim. To conduct a geographical analysis of the network of specially protected natural areas in the Russian‐Kazakhstan transboundary region and identify promising areas of international cooperation in the field of protection and conservation of natural geosystems. Material and Methods. The study was built on the basis of statistical processing of state statistics of Russia and Kazakhstan and on geoinformation analysis of open data on population and materials obtained from official geoinformation portals containing information on specially protected natural areas of both countries. Results. The authors have established and mapped border protected natural areas of federal/republican significance in the Russian‐Kazakhstan region. By means of GIS technologies, "zones of influence" of key nature protection areas were determined by constructing centroids of protected areas and Thyssen/Varzar polygons. Population levels of the territories within the obtained zones was calculated. Promising transboundary specially protected territories have been identified. Mechanisms for drawing attention to the problems of nature protection are proposed. Conclusions. The results of the analysis of the parameters of the population of the territory near the most significant protected areas in the border zone of Russia and Kazakhstan are of practical importance in the integration of specially protected natural areas into the socio‐economic development of the regions using the experience and traditions of the local population and taking into account their interests.

Trends in Western strategy: compression of the "Anaconda loops"

The article analyzes the strategy of certain political circles of the West to "squeeze the Anaconda loops", the stages of eliminating the status of our country as a superpower, as a world power, as a regional power and as a sovereign power. The forms of destruction of the zone of influence and the zone of interests of the Russian civilization and the security zone of our country and even the security belt, as well as the possibilities of countering these negative trends, are highlighted. The optimistic and pessimistic interpretations of such trends are revealed.

Damaging effects of earth fissures on high-speed railway bridges: Insights from physical experiments and numerical simulations

Earth fissure is a typical geological phenomenon related to surface rupture. With the rapid development of high-speed railways (HSRs) in recent years, earth fissure disasters pose a serious challenge to the construction and subsequent safe operation of HSRs. Here, we aimed to investigate the damaging effect of earth fissure activities on HSR bridges spanning the earth fissure zone. Taking the Shuixiu earth fissure of Da-Xi HSR as the prototype, a large-scale laboratory physical experiment with geometric model scale 1:20 was carried out to reveal the deformation and failure characteristics of HSR bridges under earth fissure activity. In addition, the damage influence range and damage mode of HSR bridges crossing earth fissures are further determined by numerical simulation. The results show that the earth fissure activity mainly has damaging effects on the structure of HSR bridges near the earth fissure zone, which is mainly manifested as uneven settlement of reinforced concrete pile, bending deformation of box girder and cracking of track slab. The width of the influence zone of Shuixiu earth fissure on the HSR bridge is determined to be 32.4 m. Moreover, the pile-end pressure on the hanging wall side of the earth fissure gradually decreases with the earth fissure activity, while that on the footwall side increases significantly. Most importantly, it is emphasized that a practical long-term monitoring and early warning system of HSR bridge structures should be established to prevent the hazards caused by earth fissure activities. The above understanding will benefit to the design, construction and operation of Da-Xi HSR line, and also provide significant guidance and reference to the construction of HSR bridges in other earth fissure prone areas.

Climatic variables that favor the Black Sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fijiensis Morelet) [anamorph: Pseudocercospora fijiensis (Morelet) Deighton] infestation in a banana-growing zone

Objective: To establish the favorable or unfavorable climatic conditions for the emergence and developmentof Black Sigatoka in a banana-growing area within the influence zone of the Teapa weather station (27004) inTabasco, Mexico.Design/Methodology/Approach: We analyzed temperature data for n=59 years (1961-2019) at the Teapaweather station (27044) in Tabasco, as reported by IMTA (2009) and the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional(until 2019). Relative humidity was calculated using the equation developed by Allen et al. (2006). We alsoestablished the favorable or unfavorable climatic conditions for the development of Black Sigatoka in Teapa byresorting to the favorability typology posited by Júnior et al. (2008).Results: There are no highly favorable climatic conditions for the incidence and development of this disease.Overall, spring and summer are the less favorable months, while fall and winter offer more favorable conditions.Study Limitations/Implications: This study should be replicated in other banana-growing areas of Tabasco,since both temperature and relative humidity may differ and, consequently, the frequency of the disease mayvary.Findings/Conclusions: October and March are the most favorable months for Black Sigatoka occurrence.Therefore, comprehensive management and control programs should be designed for this period

A cone penetration test database for multiple thin-layer correction procedure development

Cone penetration tests (CPTs) are a commonly used in situ method to characterize soil. The recorded data are used for various applications, including earthquake-induced liquefaction evaluation. However, data recorded at a given depth in a CPT sounding are influenced by the properties of all the soil that falls within the zone of influence around the cone tip rather than only the soil at that particular depth. This causes data to be blurred or averaged in layered zones, a phenomenon referred to as multiple thin-layer effects. Multiple thin-layer effects can result in the inaccurate characterization of the thickness and stiffness of thin, interbedded layers. Correction procedures have been proposed to adjust CPT tip resistance for multiple thin-layer effects, but many procedures become less effective as layer thickness decreases. To compare or improve these procedures and to develop new ones, it is critical to have pairs of measured tip resistance ( q m) and true tip resistance ( q t) data, where q m is the tip resistance recorded by the CPT in a layered profile, and q t represents the tip resistance that would be measured in the profile absent of multiple thin-layer effects. Unfortunately, data sets containing q m and q t pairs are extremely rare. Accordingly, this article presents a unique database containing laboratory and numerically generated CPT data from 49 highly interlayered soil profiles. Both q m and q t are provided for each profile. An accompanying Jupyter notebook is provided to facilitate the use of the data and prepare them for future statistical learning (or other) applications to support multiple thin-layer correction procedure development.

Parameters and resource potential of the territory of populated places in the zone of influence of stopping points

The authors did not set a goal to make a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of the formation and functioning of the settlement territories in the zone of stopping points influence.The article is a review and a problem. It provides an overview and analysis of research directly or indirectly related to the problem under consideration. The results of multivariate calculations using the regulatory documents of Ukraine are presented: parameters of the zones of transport lines and stopping points influence (width of the zones of influence, total area of construction and area of residential construction in the zone of influence of one stopping point), resource potential (housing stock, population) for the largest, large, large and small settlements and their zones (central, middle, peripheral). The performed calculations show that the territories of settlements in the zone of influence of stopping points occupy an important place in the planning structure and vital activities of settlements due to their significant resource potential − territory, population, housing stock, as well as the close relationship of their structural parameters with the parameters of the transport infrastructure. which indicates the need to consider them as a whole.

Agricultural education in Africa using YouTube multilingual animations: A retrospective feasibility study assessing costs to reach language-diverse populations.

There is a critical need for widespread information dissemination of agricultural best practices in Africa. Literacy, language and resource barriers often impede such information dissemination. Culturally and linguistically localized, computer-animated training videos placed on YouTube and promoted through paid advertising is a potential tool to help overcome these barriers. The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility of reaching language-diverse populations in Africa using this new type of information dissemination channel. As a case study, cost estimates were obtained for YouTube ad campaigns of a video to prevent post-harvest loss through safe food storage using sanitized jerrycan containers. Seventy-three video variants were created for the most common 16 languages in Ghana, 35 languages in Kenya, and 22 languages in Nigeria. Using these videos, campaigns were deployed country wide or focused on zones of influence that represent economically underdeveloped regions known to produce beans suitable for jerrycan storage. Using data collected from YouTube ad campaigns, language-specific models were created for each country to estimate how many viewers could be reached per US dollar spent. Separate models were created to estimate the number of viewers who watched 25% and 75% of the video (most of video without end credits), reflecting different levels of engagement. For language campaigns with both country wide and zone of influence areas of deployment, separate region-specific models were created. Models showed that the estimated number of viewers per dollar spent varied considerably amongst countries and languages. On average, the expected number of viewers per dollar spent were 1.8 (Range = 0.2-7.3) for 25% watched and 0.8 (Range = 0.1-3.2) for 75% watched in Ghana, 1.2 (0.2-4.8) for 25% watched and 0.5 (Range = 0.1-2.0) for 75% watched in Kenya, and 0.4 (Range = 0.2-1.3) for 25% watched and 0.2 (Range = 0.1-0.5) for 75% watched in Nigeria. English versions of the video were the most cost-effective in reaching viewers in Ghana and Nigeria. In Kenya, English language campaigns ranked 28 (country wide) and 36 (zones of influence) out of 37 analyzed campaigns. Results also showed that many local language campaigns performed well, opening the possibility that targeted knowledge dissemination on topics of importance to local populations, is potentially cost effective. In addition, such targeted information dissemination appears feasible, even during regional and global crises when in-person training may not be possible. In summary, leveraging multilingual computer-animations and digital platforms such as YouTube shows promise for conducting large-scale agricultural education campaigns. The findings of the current study provides the justification to pursue a more rigorous prospective study to verify the efficacy of knowledge exchange and societal impact through this form of information dissemination channel.

Study on the lateral thermal disturbances of three parallel embankments on permafrost along the Gonghe-Yushu Engineering Corridor in China

The mutual thermal disturbance of built structures along narrow permafrost engineering corridors has become an evident influencing factor on the thermal stability of frozen soil engineering. To analyse the mutual thermal disturbance of the built structures along a permafrost engineering corridor in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, three parallel permafrost embankments (along the G214 Highway and the first- and second-stage projects of the Gonghe-Yushu Highway in the Gonghe-Yushu Engineering Corridor) were chosen as the research sites. These three highways were built at different times following different standards; thus, complicated lateral thermal disturbances occurred among the three parallel embankments. The embankment distress investigations, typical section drilling, and ground temperature observations were used for analysis. Then, the thermal distress and service status were analyzed under the mutual thermal disturbances of the three embankments. The continuous wave settlements and inclination deformations were relatively developed due to the remarkable mutual thermal disturbances from the shorter distances among the three embankments. Moreover, missing or poor drainage systems further aggravated the mutual thermal disturbances. The monitored data revealed that the transverse thermal disturbances weakened the cooling effects of several special structures to a certain degree; these structures included the ventiduct embankments and crushed-rock embankments. A thermal disturbance simulation model for the three parallel permafrost embankments was proposed and included the assignment of the general influence, core influence, and severe influence zones of the thermal disturbance. The computed results showed that the general influence zones and core influence zones under the three embankments were linked together after 3 and 10 years of construction, respectively, on the Gonghe-Yushu Highway. After 50 years, a vast thermal influence area almost 100 m wide and 20 m deep would form under the three embankments. The thermal disturbances at different distances between embankments were also analyzed using this model; the distances between G214 and the first-phase project of the Gonghe-Yushu Highway were inferred to be more than 15 m and 20 m between the first- and second-phase projects of the Gonghe-Yushu Highway, respectively.