Numerical modelling of slope–vegetation–atmosphere interaction: an overview

The behaviour of natural and artificial slopes is controlled by their thermo-hydro-mechanical conditions and by soil–vegetation–atmosphere interaction. Porewater pressure changes within a slope related to variable meteorological settings have been shown to be able to induce soil erosion, shrinkage–swelling and cracking, thus leading to an overall decrease of the available soil strength with depth and, ultimately, to a progressive slope collapse. In terms of numerical modelling, the stability analysis of partially saturated slopes is a complex problem and a wide range of approaches from simple limit equilibrium solutions to advanced numerical analyses have been proposed in the literature. The more advanced approaches, although more rigorous, require input data such as the soil water retention curve and the hydraulic conductivity function, which are difficult to obtain in some cases. The quantification of the effects of future climate scenarios represents an additional challenge in forecasting slope–atmosphere interaction processes. This paper presents a review of real and ideal case histories regarding the numerical analysis of natural and artificial slopes subjected to different types of climatic perturbations. The limits and benefits of the different numerical approaches adopted are discussed and some general modelling recommendations are addressed

History of British Intensive Care, c. 1950–c. 2000

Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 16 June 2010. Introduction by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Royal Liverpool Hospital and University of Liverpool.Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 16 June 2010. Introduction by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Royal Liverpool Hospital and University of Liverpool.Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 16 June 2010. Introduction by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Royal Liverpool Hospital and University of Liverpool.Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 16 June 2010. Introduction by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Royal Liverpool Hospital and University of Liverpool.Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 16 June 2010. Introduction by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Royal Liverpool Hospital and University of Liverpool.Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 16 June 2010. Introduction by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Royal Liverpool Hospital and University of Liverpool.Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 16 June 2010. Introduction by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Royal Liverpool Hospital and University of Liverpool.Annotated and edited transcript of a Witness Seminar held on 16 June 2010. Introduction by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Royal Liverpool Hospital and University of Liverpool.Intensive care developed in the UK as a medical specialty as the result of some extraordinary circumstances and the involvement of some extraordinary people. In 1952, the polio epidemic in Copenhagen demonstrated that tracheostomy with intermittent positive pressure ventilation saved lives and those infected with tetanus (common in agricultural areas) soon benefited. War-time developments such as triage, monitoring, transfusion and teamwork, and different specialists such as respiratory physiologists, anaesthetists and manufacturers of respiratory equipment all improved emergency treatment. These advances were rapidly extended to the care of post-operative patients, particularly with developments in cardiac surgery. Dedicated units appeared in the early 1960s in Cambridge, London and Liverpool, and later specialist care units were created for prenatal, cardiac and dialysis patients. The importance of specialist nursing care led to the development of nurse training, education and the eventual appointment of nurse consultants in the NHS in 1999. The specialty of intensive care was granted Faculty status by the GMC in 2010. Introduced by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, this transcript includes, inter alia, the development of cardiac catheters, monitoring equipment, data collection techniques and the rise of multidisciplinarity, national audit, and scoring systems

Understanding and Evaluating Assurance Cases

Assurance cases are a method for providing assurance for a system by giving an argument to justify a claim about the system, based on evidence about its design, development, and tested behavior. In comparison with assurance based on guidelines or standards (which essentially specify only the evidence to be produced), the chief novelty in assurance cases is provision of an explicit argument. In principle, this can allow assurance cases to be more finely tuned to the specific circumstances of the system, and more agile than guidelines in adapting to new techniques and applications. The first part of this report (Sections 1-4) provides an introduction to assurance cases. Although this material should be accessible to all those with an interest in these topics, the examples focus on software for airborne systems, traditionally assured using the DO-178C guidelines and its predecessors. A brief survey of some existing assurance cases is provided in Section 5. The second part (Section 6) considers the criteria, methods, and tools that may be used to evaluate whether an assurance case provides sufficient confidence that a particular system or service is fit for its intended use. An assurance case cannot provide unequivocal "proof" for its claim, so much of the discussion focuses on the interpretation of such less-than-definitive arguments, and on methods to counteract confirmation bias and other fallibilities in human reasoning

Faculty Publications and Creative Works 2001

One of the ways in which we recognize our faculty at the University of New Mexico is through Faculty Publications & Creative Works. An annual publication, it highlights our faculty\u27s scholarly and creative activities and achievements and serves as a compendium of UNM faculty efforts during the 2001 calendar year. Faculty Publications & Creative Works strives to illustrate the depth and breadth of research activities performed throughout our University\u27s laboratories, studios and classrooms. We believe that the communication of individual research is a significant method of sharing concepts and thoughts and ultimately inspiring the birth of new ideas. In support of this, UNM faculty during 2001 produced over 2,299* works, including 1,685 scholarly papers and articles, 69 books, 269 book chapters, 184 reviews, 86 creative works and 6 patented works. We are proud of the accomplishments of our faculty which are in part reflected in this book, which illustrates the diversity of intellectual pursuits in support of research and education at the University of New Mexico

Scottish Archaeological Research Framework: Future Thinking on Carved Stones

No abstract available

Modelling the dynamic interaction between hydrology, slope stability and wave run-up processes in the soft-sea cliffs at Covehithe, Suffolk, UK

Soft-rock coastal cliff retreat progresses by an intermittent and discontinuous series of slope mass movements, generally accepted to be concentrated during phases of strong wave attack or heavy rain. One of the fundamental limitations to improving understanding of these processes is a lack of accurate quantitative data on the hydrological and geotechnical behaviour of the cliff slope. In this study, high-resolution terrestrial surveys of coastal change over a fifteen year period have been analysed and combined with hydrological and geotechnical simulations of cliff behaviour under rainfall stress. The input parameters for the simulations have been established from site survey, cross-checked with data from a range of published literature. The numerical model has been applied to typical hydrological, climatic and geotechnical conditions at Covehithe, Suffolk. In addition, analyses of water levels and beach elevations have subsequently been included using archive observation data, to further investigate the mechanisms governing the nature of change at the study site. Key findings include: (a.) high-resolution modelling of rainfall-infiltration processes combined with slope stability analysis provides a unique insight into the complex interaction between slope morphology and dynamic hydrology in soft sea cliffs. (b.) detailed analysis of daily factors of safety related to specific daily rainfalls is significant in reproducing failure conditions at the study site, and elucidates the complex interaction between cliff stratigraphy, cliff hydrology and rainfall. (c.) The results of the water level and beach elevation analyses show that marine processes are significant to the generation of cliff instability, consistent with the field observations and with the Sunamura (1983) model. These findings suggest that the instability of soft sea-cliffs results from complex and interacting controls that require an approach utilising a fully integrated transient hydrology and slope stability modelling. These results have significant implications for current coastal management practice