Time response of a landslide to meteorological events

International audienceA landslide affecting two small villages located on the Northwestern Italian Apennines has been investigated since the year 2000 through the use of different equipment. A complex monitoring system has been installed in the area. The system includes several inclinometers, piezometers and a raingauge. An Automatic Inclinometric System (AIS) has been also installed that automatically performs measurements, twice a day, along the entire length of a pipe that is 45 m deep. This monitoring system has been set up to identify a methodology that allowed to deal with landslides, trying to predict their behaviour beforehand for warning purposes. Previous researches carried out in the same area for a period of about 7 months, in the year 2000, have allowed to identify a correlation between deep slope movements and rainfalls. In particular, it has been possible to determine the time lag needed for a rainfall peak to produce a corresponding peak of the landslide movements; this time lag was of 9 days. This result was possible because the AIS allows to obtain, as mentioned, daily inclinometric measurements that can be correlated with the recorded rainfalls. In the present report we have extended the analysis of the correlation between deep slope movements and rainfalls to a greater period of observation (2 years) to verify over this period the consistency of the time lag mentioned above. The time lag previously found has been confirmed. We have also examined the possibility to extend to the entire landslide body the correlation that has been found locally, analyzing the results of the remaining inclinometric tubes with traditional reading installed on the landslide and comparing them with the results of the AIS. The output of the tubes equipped with piezometric cells has also been analyzed. The relations existing among rainfalls, ground water level oscillations and the related slope movements have been explore

Facile Low-Temperature synthesis of novel carbon nitrides for efficient conversion of carbon dioxide into Value-Added chemicals

The interest in using carbon nitrides (CN) for CO2 conversion has stimulated extensive research on CN synthesis. Herein, we report the synthesis of two novel CN materials using low-cost commercially available precursors at low temperatures in a short duration of time. Two CN materials, one derived from 5-amino tetrazole (named 4NZ-CN) and the other derived from 3, 5-diamino-1, 2, 4-triazole (named 3NZ-CN) precursors, are prepared by refluxing these precursors for 2 h at 100 °C. 4NZ-CN and 3NZ-CN catalysts show higher surface areas (55.80 and 52.00 m2 g−1) and more basic sites (10.05 and 5.65 mmol g−1) than the conventional graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) derived from melamine, for which the corresponding values are 9.20 m2 g−1 and 0.62 mmol g−1, respectively. In addition, both CN exhibit a 3-fold higher catalytic activity for CO2 cycloaddition to epoxides than g-C3N4. The structure−activity relationship was ascertained using a combination of experimental and computational studies, and a catalytic mechanism was proposed. This work provides a facile strategy for the synthesis of novel CN materials at relatively low temperatures, and the developed catalysts show remarkable performance in the conversion of CO2 to value-added chemicals

Light-driven C–O coupling of carboxylic acids and alkyl halides over a Ni single-atom catalyst

Although visible-light-driven dual photoredox catalysis, a method that combines photoabsorbers and transition metals, has become a powerful tool to conduct coupling reactions, resource economical and scalability issues persist, owing to the use of catalysts and light absorbers that exploit critical raw materials (such as iridium complexes), and are homogeneous in nature. Here we report the merger of metallic single-atom and photoredox catalysis, in the form of a Ni atom-supported carbon nitride material, for the C–O coupling of carboxylic acids and alkyl halides. This operationally straightforward system, composed of only earth-abundant components, exhibits a wide functional group tolerance. Additionally, short reaction times, facile recovery and high catalyst stability make this method highly attractive for industrial applications

Computing Topology Preservation of RBF Transformations for Landmark-Based Image Registration

In image registration, a proper transformation should be topology preserving. Especially for landmark-based image registration, if the displacement of one landmark is larger enough than those of neighbourhood landmarks, topology violation will be occurred. This paper aim to analyse the topology preservation of some Radial Basis Functions (RBFs) which are used to model deformations in image registration. Mat\'{e}rn functions are quite common in the statistic literature (see, e.g. \cite{Matern86,Stein99}). In this paper, we use them to solve the landmark-based image registration problem. We present the topology preservation properties of RBFs in one landmark and four landmarks model respectively. Numerical results of three kinds of Mat\'{e}rn transformations are compared with results of Gaussian, Wendland's, and Wu's functions

Effects of nuclear re-interactions in quasi-elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering

The effects of nuclear re-interactions in the quasi-elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering are investigated with a phenomenological model. We found that the nuclear responses are lowered and their maxima are shifted towards higher excitation energies. This is reflected on the total neutrino-nucleus cross section in a general reduction of about 15% for neutrino energies above 300 MeV.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to AstroParticle Physic

Resonance production by neutrinos: I. J=3/2 Resonances

The article contains general formulas for the production of J=3/2 resonances by neutrinos and antineutrinos. It specializes to the P_{33}(1232) resonance whose form factors are determined by theory and experiment and then are compared with experimental results at low and high energies. It is shown that the minimum in the low Q^2 region is a consequence of a combined effect from the vanishing of the vector form factors, the muon mass and Pauli blocking. Several improvements for the future investigations are suggested.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX, misprints corrected, 1 reference adde

Fabricating a Structured Single-Atom Catalyst via High-Resolution Photopolymerization 3D Printing

This study introduces a novel solution to the design of structured catalysts, integrating single-piece 3D printing with single-atom catalysis. Structured catalysts are widely employed in industrial processes, as they provide optimal mass and heat transfer, leading to a more efficient use of catalytic materials. They are conventionally prepared using ceramic or metallic bodies, which are then washcoated and impregnated with catalytically active layers. However, this approach may lead to adhesion issues of the latter. By employing photopolymerization printing, a stable and active single-atom catalyst is directly shaped into a stand-alone, single-piece structured material. The battery of characterization methods employed in the present study confirms the uniform distribution of catalytically active species and the structural integrity of the material. Computational fluid dynamics simulations are applied to demonstrate enhanced momentum transfer and light distribution within the structured body. The materials are finally evaluated in the continuous-flow photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde, a relevant reaction to prepare biomass-derived building blocks. The innovative approach reported herein to manufacture a structured single-atom catalyst circumvents the complexities of traditional synthetic methods, offering scalability and efficiency improvements, and highlights the transformative role of 3D printing in catalysis engineering to revolutionize catalysts’ design