How to Carry Out Bathymetric and Elevation Surveys on a Tight Budget: Basic Surveying Techniques for Sustainabilty Scientists

Sustainability scientists often face a difficult task to conduct research or carry out preliminary investigations around coastal areas in developing countries, due to the limitation in the availability of topographical and bathymetry data. These limitations can be particularly important for the case of ports, on which the livelihoods of many fishing communities depend on. Often, cost is cited as a reason regarding the absence of any such data. However, in the present technical note the authors highlight how existing “low-level” surveying methods can be inexpensive and allow sustainability scientists to conduct a reasonably accurate survey for less than 1,000 USD, provided that researchers possess a reasonable knowledge of mathematics and geometry (high-school equivalent)

Field Survey of Flank Collapse and Run-up Heights due to 2018 Anak Krakatau Tsunami

Dataset: https://data.4tu.nl/articles/dataset/Bathymetry_data_underlying_the_publication_Field_survey_of_flank_collapse_and_run-up_heights_due_to_the_2018_Anak_Krakatau_Tsunami/1421561

Outcomes of dutasteride discontinuation in patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy

To the Editor, Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common cause of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in elderly males. The current guidelines recommend the use of a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor (5ARI) to treat males with moderate-to-severe LUTS and an enlarged prostate. Combination therapy with an alpha blocker and a 5ARI has proven effective at ameliorating LUTS and reducing the total prostate volume (TPV) and the risk of the disease progression

Failure Mechanisms and Local Scour at Coastal Structures induced by Tsunamis

On March 11 2011, an exceptionally large tsunami event was triggered by a massive earthquake offshore, the northeast coast of Japan, which affected coastal infrastructure such as seawalls, coastal dikes and breakwaters in the Tohoku region. Such infrastructure was built to protect against the Level 1 tsunamis that previously hit the region, but not for events as significant as the 2011 Tohoku tsunami, which was categorized as a Level 2 tsunami [Shibayama et al. 2013]. The failure mechanisms of concrete-armoured dikes, breakwaters and seawalls due to Level 2 tsunamis are still not fully understood by researchers and engineers. This paper investigates the failure modes and mechanisms of damaged coastal structures in Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures, following the authors' post-disaster field surveys carried out between 2011 and 2013. Six significant failure mechanisms were identified for the coastal dikes and seawalls affected by this tsunami: 1) Leeward toe scour failure, 2) Crown armour failure, 3) Leeward slope armour failure, 4) Seaward toe and armour failure, 5) Overturning failure, and 6) Parapet wall failure, in which leeward toe scour being recognized as the major failure mechanism in most surveyed locations. The authors also propose a simple practical mathematical model for predicting the scour depth at the leeward toe of the coastal dikes, by considering the effects of the tsunami hydrodynamics, the soil properties and the type of structure. The key advantage of this model is that it depends entirely on quantities that are measurable in the field. Furthermore this model was further refined by conducting a series of hydraulic model experiments aimed to understand the governing factors of the leeward toe scour failure. Finally, based on the results obtained, key recommendations are given for the design of resilient coastal defence structures that can survive a level 2 tsunami event

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

Detached Breakwaters Effects on Tsunamis around Coastal Dykes

AbstractThe Japanese coastal areas have a lot of different types of coastal structures with different purposes, and it is important to understand each structure's effects on tsunami. In the present paper, the authors focused on detached breakwaters effects on tsunami flow around coastal dykes with a field data investigation and laboratory experiments using a tsunami basin. The field data obtained from the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami showed that tsunami flow was not uniform along a coastal dyke with the specific arrangement of detached breakwaters. The laboratory experiments performed in a tsunami basin showed that a detached breakwater with a small detached breakwater parameter (distance from the shoreline/length of the opening)had a tsunami mitigation effect along the shoreline just behind the main body of the breakwater, but did not have a tsunami mitigation effect along the shoreline just behind the opening. The results obtained from the laboratory experiments agreed with the field data of the 2011 tsunami

High Serum Alkaline Phosphatase Flare after First-Line Androgen Deprivation Therapy Predicts Poor Prognosis in Metastatic Prostate Cancer Patients Treated with Second-Generation Androgen Receptor Targeted Therapy

Objectives. To determine whether an alkaline phosphatase (ALP) flare after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is associated with the treatment response in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and predicts the prognosis of metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Methods. One hundred and nineteen patients diagnosed with metastatic PCa between 2008 and 2017 were retrospectively studied. The ALP flare ratio was calculated as the ratio of ALP levels 1 month after beginning ADT to ALP levels at diagnosis. The association of the ALP flare ratio with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response to CRPC treatment (second-generation androgen receptor targeted therapy (ART) or docetaxel), time to CRPC, and overall survival (OS) were investigated. Results. The time to CRPC and OS was significantly longer in patients with an ALP flare ratio less than 1.33 compared to a ratio more than 1.33. No difference in PSA response was seen regarding the ALP flare ratio in both ART and docetaxel treatment. Second-generation ART-treated patients with a low ALP flare ratio showed longer OS than those with a higher ALP flare ratio (p=0.0367). However, no difference was seen between a high and low ALP flare ratio (p=0.8054) in docetaxel-treated patients. The ALP flare ratio was the most significant prognostic factor for OS (p<0.0001). Conclusions. A higher ALP flare ratio after first-line ADT was a significant prognostic factor in metastatic PCa, especially in patients treated with second-generation ART for CRPC. Chemotherapy for patients with a higher ALP flare ratio 1 month after induction of ADT may be a clinically relevant decision

Experimental Investigation of Debris-Induced Loading in Tsunami-Like Flood Events

Debris loads during flood events have been well-documented by forensic engineering field surveys of affected communities. Research has primarily focused on debris impact loading and less emphasis has been placed into quantifying the loads and effects associated with debris damming, which occurs when solid objects accumulate at the front of structures. The formation of the debris dam has been shown to results in increased drag forces, backwater rise, and flow accelerations which can influence the stability of the structure. This study examined the formation of a debris dam in steady-state conditions of debris common to flood-prone communities. The study determined that the hydraulic conditions, in particular flow velocity, influenced the formation of the debris dam. Additionally, the study examined the influence of the blockage ratio on the backwater rise as well as the drag coefficient

Storm surge and evacuation in urban areas during the peak of a storm

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. The present paper examines the impact of floodwater caused by the storm surge brought about by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, focusing on downtown Tacloban in Leyte Island, the Philippines. A reliable numerical model for predicting such flooding was developed by calibrating the results of field investigations, including footage from a video clip taken during the storm surge. The simulation reveals that flow velocities along the streets in downtown Tacloban reached up to 7. m/s due to flow contraction along the high-density blocks of houses, and how water levels reached their peak in just 10. min. According to the depth-velocity product criteria, often used for evaluating the vulnerability of people and buildings to floodwaters, only 8% of the length of streets in downtown Tacloban were within the safe limits that allow pedestrian evacuation. Based on these findings, the present research concludes that pedestrian evacuation in the middle of a storm surge generated by a strong typhoon is a high-. risk behavior. Thus, clearly and objectively, evacuation during this time should not be encouraged, even when seawater intrudes the houses of local residents. In this respect, it would appear imperative that prior to the arrival of the typhoon all residents should evacuate areas at risk of being flooded. Though the flood height was significant in the downtown area, the damage to these houses was limited. If it was not possible for some reason to evacuate prior to the arrival of the typhoon, those in solid houses should first consider vertical evacuation and the possibility that they could survive in their place, rather than courageously evacuating in an unpredictable water flow