1,151 research outputs found

    Cancer and virus

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    Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Medical DepartmentUNIFESP, EPM, Medical DepartmentSciEL

    Nearshore hydrodynamics and morphology derived from video imagery

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    Tese de doutoramento, Geologia (Geodinâmica Externa), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2018The coastal zone is the dynamic interface between the land and the ocean. Natural processes, including wave action, flooding and coastal erosion, often endanger human occupation and the use of the littoral. It is therefore essential to improve our understanding of the physical processes occurring at the coast, particularly those related with coastal morphodynamics. Due to the complexity of the coastal environment, littoral studies should be as comprehensive as possible, covering both hydrodynamic forcing and morphological response. However, conventional in-situ survey methods involve the use of instrumentation which, due to the logistical commitments, do not provide the required time-space scales. Remote sensing methods emerge in this context as an interesting alternative solution to yield simultaneous high temporal frequency and high spatial resolution observations of the nearshore processes. Among others, shore-based video remote sensing systems have been proved, over the last three decades, as a cost-efficient and high-quality tool to support coastal scientists and managers. Video monitoring installations offer excellent spatio-temporal resolutions, in combination with cost-efficient long-term data acquisition. This dissertation aims to present new conceptual models and video imagery tools to assess nearshore morphodynamics. This objective was accomplished through the development of a set of efficient computational tools to extract synoptic hydrodynamic and morphology information from video images. Data used in this work were acquired at five different study sites located worldwide. At three sites, video data were collected from dedicated video systems installed for scientific purpose. Two more additional video data sets were derived from the acquisition of online-streaming surfcams, which are camera infrastructures installed at the coast to provide remote visual information of sea state to surf users. A stand-alone set of algorithm was built to process and to geo-reference the acquired video sequence using already existing software. In addition, the automated processing is set to produce special images, namely Timex Variance and Timestack. A first video-based technique exploited the pixel intensity variation of Timestack images to characterize nearshore hydrodynamics. The standard deviation of pixel intensity was successfully related to the spatial distribution of wave transformation domains. Therefore, shoaling, surf and swash zones could be clearly identified in the nearshore profile covered by the image. This technique provides a new tool to study the nearshore dynamics, as the extent of wave domains can be related with distinctive morphodynamic behaviour. The method can be also directly applied to Variance images, hence it offers the possibility of extending such studies to the alongshore dimension. A second methodology developed in the scope of the present work exploited the use of pixel intensity average of Timestack images to estimate wave breaking height. Breakpoint locations and pixel intensity profiles were used to define the cross-shore breaking pattern length visible on a time-averaged image, here defined as the parameter. A first approach coupled to the available bathymetry to solve a simple conceptual model for finding breaker height. Wave breaking height estimates yield a Normalized Root Mean Square Error (NRMSE) of 14% when compared to numerical model results, for offshore wave heights ranging from 1.6 m to 3.5 m. A second approach proposed the relationship /24 to replace water depth parameter on the simplest wave height calculation formula, which multiplies water depth by the breaker index. The technique can be directly applied on Timex, therefore images from four different sites were used to test its validity, obtaining an NRMSE of about 22% for a wide range of wave heights. A third methodology aimed to investigate the possibility of combining two shorebased remote sensing techniques, 2D terrestrial LiDAR and video imagery to perform detailed beach intertidal topography. 2D LiDAR provided precise shoreline elevation along a cross-shore beach transect, while shoreline contour was detected on Timex images in the alongshore dimension. The dataset from both instruments were complemented to perform 3D beach intertidal topography mapping with a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of approximately 0.12 m. Finally, a method to assess nearshore bathymetry was developed. The method is based on a depth inversion technique, where wave celerity was estimated using wave trajectories visible on Timestacks. The procedure differentiates the waves in the shoaling and breaking zones and then estimates local depth from shallow or intermediate water equations. In the test case, bathymetry was mapped till a depth of 11 m with relative short time observations (5 hours), registering a RMSE of about 0.46 m when compared to ground truth data. The techniques herein developed allow to extract from video images some of the key drivers of nearshore morphodynamics, such as wave breaking height and wave period, as well as the main morphological features, namely subtidal bathymetry and intertidal beach topography. The combination of the methodologies presented in this thesis provides a comprehensive coverage of nearshore processes, enabling a synoptic representation of hydrodynamics and morphology. These methodologies may foster the implementation of new video-based operational systems and support the quasi-real time determination of coastal indicators and early warning systems for coastal hazards.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), SFRH/BD/52558/201

    Between the ruin and the work of art: social psychology of touristic-historic city perception

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    Este artigo objetiva discutir o processo de significação da cidade histórica turística de Ouro Preto. Desenvolve-se por meio de uma pesquisa em psicologia social baseada na fenomenologia e no estudo micro-histórico da percepção. O trabalho foi baseado em extensa pesquisa de artigos, livros e outras fontes sobre a cidade de Ouro Preto. Ao final, mostram-se os diferentes discursos concernentes a quatro campos perceptivos criados durante o século XX.This article aims to discuss the signification process of the tourist-historic city of Ouro Preto. It is developed through a social psychology research based on a phenomenological approach and a micro-historical study of perception. It was based on an extent research on articles, books and others documents about Ouro Preto city. At the end, one shows the different discourses concerning four main perception fields created during the 20th century

    Editorial

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    Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de MedicinaUNIFESP, Depto. de MedicinaSciEL

    Roadblocks and the Law of Arrest in Montana

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    Roadblocks and the Law of Arrest in Montan

    Rogers v. Richmond, 365 U.S. 534 (1961)

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    Rogers v. Richmon

    Plath v. Hi-Ball Contractors, Inc., 362 P.2d 1021 (Mont. 1961)

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    Plath v. Hi-Ball Contractors, Inc

    Duality and Axionic Weak Gravity

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    The axionic weak gravity conjecture predicts the existence of instantons whose actions are less than their charges in appropriate units. We show that the conjecture is satisfied for the axion-dilaton-gravity system if we assume duality constraints on the higher derivative corrections in addition to positivity bounds which follow from unitarity, analyticity, and locality of UV scattering amplitudes. On the other hand, the conjecture does not follow if we assume the positivity bounds only. This presents an example where derivation of the weak gravity conjecture requires more detailed UV information than the consistency of scattering amplitudes.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, version published in PRD: comments added and typos fixed, generalised arguments in section 2.2, results unchange
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