A typology of marine and estuarine hazards and risks as vectors of change : a review for vulnerable coasts and their management

This paper illustrates a typology of 14 natural and anthropogenic hazards, the evidence for their causes and consequences for society and their role as vectors of change in estuaries, vulnerable coasts and marine areas. It uses hazard as the potential that there will be damage to the natural or human system and so is the product of an event which could occur and the probability of it occurring whereas the degree of risk then relates to the amount of assets, natural or societal, which may be affected. We give long- and short-term and large- and small-scale perspectives showing that the hazards leading to disasters for society will include flooding, erosion and tsunamis. Global examples include the effects of wetland loss and the exacerbation of problems by building on vulnerable coasts. Hence we emphasise the importance of considering hazard and risk on such coasts and consider the tools for assessing and managing the impacts of risk and hazard. These allow policy-makers to determine the consequences for natural and human systems. We separate locally-derived problems from large-scale effects (e.g. climate change, sea-level rise and isostatic rebound); we emphasise that the latter unmanaged exogenic pressures require a response to the consequences rather than the causes whereas within a management area there are endogenic managed pressures in which we address both to causes and consequences. The problems are put into context by assessing hazards and the conflicts between different uses and users and hence the management responses needed. We emphasise that integrated and sustainable management of the hazards and risk requires 10-tenets to be fulfilled

Sex Differences in Mechanisms of Recovery after Isometric and Dynamic Fatiguing Tasks

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether supraspinal mechanisms contribute to the sex difference in fatigability during and recovery from a dynamic and isometric fatiguing task with the knee extensors. Methods: Transcranial magnetic stimulation and electrical stimulation were used to determine voluntary activation and contractile properties of the knee extensors in 14 men and 17 women (20.8 ± 1.9 yr) after a 1) 60-s sustained, maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), and 2) dynamic fatiguing task involving 120 maximal voluntary concentric contractions with a 20% MVIC load. Results: There were no differences between men and women in the reduction of maximal torque during the sustained MVIC (54.4% ± 18.9% vs 55.9% ± 11.2%, P = 0.49) or in the decrease in power during the dynamic fatiguing task (14.7% ± 20.1% vs 14.2% ± 18.5%, P = 0.92). However, MVIC torque recovered more quickly for women than men after the sustained MVIC and the dynamic task (P \u3c 0.05). The transcranial magnetic stimulation–elicited superimposed twitch was larger for men than for women during the sustained MVIC and in recovery (immediately post, R0.1: 4.7% ± 3.3% vs 2.4% ± 1.9% MVIC; P = 0.02), with no sex difference after the dynamic task (P = 0.35). The reduction in resting twitch amplitude was larger for men than for women immediately after the dynamic task (37% ± 22% vs 23% ± 18%; P = 0.016) with no sex difference after the sustained MVIC (64% ± 16% vs 67% ± 11%; P = 0.46). Conclusions: Supraspinal fatigue contributed to fatigability of the knee extensors more for men than for women after a maximal isometric task, whereas contractile mechanisms explained the sex difference in torque recovery after the fast-velocity dynamic task. The mechanisms for the sex difference in fatigability are task dependent

Microstructured Arrayed Microfluidic Waveguide Structure for Infrared Radiation Focusing and Transfer

A microstructured arrayed microfluidic waveguide structure for infrared radiation focussing and transfer is proposed and demonstrated. The arrayed waveguide structure comprises Masterbond UV-curable epoxy UV15 optimised using ZEMAX optical design software to achieve high efficiency of heat capture through far-infrared light focussing and subsequent absorption of the radiation on a centralised fluid medium. A high degree of alignment of the precision-positioned fluidic microchannels with the symmetry axes and the focal plane locations of the cylindrical microlens array is demonstrated, which maximises the efficiency of absorption of the incident IR light energy within the moving fluid. Observation of ink flows through the initial device prototype confirms the suitability of our microfluidic channel fabrication technology for the transfer of far-infrared light (heat) transfer. This microstructured arrayed waveguide structure has application for development of a textile fabric that enhances surface heat removal

Cross-country risk quantification of extreme wildfires in Mediterranean Europe.

We estimate the country-level risk of extreme wildfires defined by burned area (BA) for Mediterranean Europe and carry out a cross-country comparison. To this end, we avail of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) geospatial data from 2006 to 2019 to perform an extreme value analysis. More specifically, we apply a point process characterization of wildfire extremes using maximum likelihood estimation. By modeling covariates, we also evaluate potential trends and correlations with commonly known factors that drive or affect wildfire occurrence, such as the Fire Weather Index as a proxy for meteorological conditions, population density, land cover type, and seasonality. We find that the highest risk of extreme wildfires is in Portugal (PT), followed by Greece (GR), Spain (ES), and Italy (IT) with a 10-year BA return level of 50'338 ha, 33'242 ha, 25'165 ha, and 8'966 ha, respectively. Coupling our results with existing estimates of the monetary impact of large wildfires suggests expected losses of 162-439 million € (PT), 81-219 million € (ES), 41-290 million € (GR), and 18-78 million € (IT) for such 10-year return period events. SUMMARY: We model the risk of extreme wildfires for Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Spain in form of burned area return levels, compare them, and estimate expected losses