Smart sensors to detect movements of cobbles and large woody debris dams. Insights from lab experiments.

An increase in population pressure and severe storms under climate change have greatly impacted landslide and flood hazards globally. At the same time, recent advances in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, microelectronics and machine learning offer new opportunities to effectively monitor stability of boulder and woody debris on landslides and in flood-prone rivers. In this framework, smart sensors embedded in elements within the landslide body and the river catchment can be potentially used for monitoring purposes and for developing early warning systems. This is because they are small, light-weight, and able to collect different environmental data with low battery consumption and communicate to a server through a wireless connection. However, their reliability still needs to be evaluated. As data from field sites could be fragmented, laboratory experiments are essential to validate sensor data and see their potential in a controlled environment. In the present study, dedicated laboratory experiments were designed to assess the ability of a tag equipped with an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer to detect movements in two different settings. In the first experimental campaign, the tag was installed inside a cobble of 10.0 cm diameter within a borehole of 4.0 cm diameter. The experiments consisted in letting the cobble fall on an experimental table composed of an inclined plane of 1.5 m, followed by a horizontal one of 2.0 m. The inclined plane can be tilted at different angles (18˚- 55˚) and different types of movement have been generated by letting the cobble roll, bounce, or slide. Sliding was generated by embedding the cobble within a layer of sand. The position of the cobble travelling down the slope was derived from camera videos by a tracking algorithm developed within the study. In the second experimental campaign, a simplified analogue model of a woody debris dam was built from a single hollowed dowel with a length of 40 cm and a diameter of 3.8 cm. The sensor tag is installed in the woody dowel within a 2.5 cm longitudinal borehole. Two metal rigs are mounted at both sides of the woody dowel to allow different modes of movement. Specifically, the woody dowel is allowed to move either horizontally or vertically within a range of 20-30 mm, whereas it is always free to complete full rotations. The woody dowel is mounted on a frame within a 20 m long and 0.6 m wide flume. In these two experimental settings, combining data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer it was possible to detect movements and differentiate between different type of motions both in a woody dowel and in the cobble under different initial conditions. Data were analysed to understand which type of information could be retrieved. This gives important insights for the assessment of the feasibility and effectiveness of the use of smart sensors in the detection of movements in woody logs within dams and boulders embedded in landslides, thus providing indications for the development of early warning systems using this innovative technology

Observations and computational multi-phase modelling in tropical river settings show complex channel changes downstream from rainfall-triggered landslides

Alluvial river channels respond to changes in sediment supply by adjusting their geometry. Landslide sediment delivery and geomorphic response of river channels during floods are poorly understood and rarely examined in tropical settings. We investigate the impact of landslides on channel geomorphic changes during an extreme typhoon-induced flood event in the Philippines, specifically the complex geomorphic response of the Antamok River to Typhoon Mangkhut in September 2018, which triggered >500 landslides in the Ambalanga catchment. The catchment has a legacy of anthropogenic modifications, such as extensive small-scale (artisanal) mining and tailings storage facilities (TSFs) from large-scale mining activities. We use a novel mix of mapping and computational modelling approaches to test the hypothesis that landslide sediment delivery is a major control on channel geomorphic change. Pre- and post-event imagery show that the overall active channel area increased by 35.9% and the mean active channel width increased by 9.1 m. Spatially, we find no clear relationship between landslide sediment input or unit stream power and channel width geomorphic change, with longitudinal changes in active channel width complicated by TSFs. Multi-phase modelling using r.avaflow revealed how landslide sediment delivery and TSFs interacted with the flow to generate the observed patterns of channel change. The model simulated channel incision in the upper parts of the catchment (up to 0.78 m) and deposition in the TSFs (up to 1.73 m). Our findings demonstrate that well-established methods (e.g., stream power threshold) fail to fully explain channel width geomorphic changes, particularly for anthropogenically altered catchments. Integrating techniques, such as landslide mapping and multi-phase computational modelling improves understanding of sediment supply's role in channel width change during extreme events. Numerical simulations also demonstrate that conventional assumptions of increased erosion and deposition with rising flow discharge are inaccurate with large sediment input, highlighting instead the effectiveness of multi-phase models

Practice patterns and 90-day treatment-related morbidity in early-stage cervical cancer

To evaluate the impact of the Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer (LACC) Trial on patterns of care and surgery-related morbidity in early-stage cervical cancer

Characteristics and patterns of care of endometrial cancer before and during COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has correlated with the disruption of screening activities and diagnostic assessments. Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common gynecological malignancies and it is often detected at an early stage, because it frequently produces symptoms. Here, we aim to investigate the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on patterns of presentation and treatment of EC patients. Methods: This is a retrospective study involving 54 centers in Italy. We evaluated patterns of presentation and treatment of EC patients before (period 1: March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020) and during (period 2: April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021) the COVID-19 outbreak. Results: Medical records of 5,164 EC patients have been retrieved: 2,718 and 2,446 women treated in period 1 and period 2, respectively. Surgery was the mainstay of treatment in both periods (p=0.356). Nodal assessment was omitted in 689 (27.3%) and 484 (21.2%) patients treated in period 1 and 2, respectively (p<0.001). While, the prevalence of patients undergoing sentinel node mapping (with or without backup lymphadenectomy) has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (46.7% in period 1 vs. 52.8% in period 2; p<0.001). Overall, 1,280 (50.4%) and 1,021 (44.7%) patients had no adjuvant therapy in period 1 and 2, respectively (p<0.001). Adjuvant therapy use has increased during COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.001). Conclusion: Our data suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the characteristics and patterns of care of EC patients. These findings highlight the need to implement healthcare services during the pandemic

Risk factors associated with adverse fetal outcomes in pregnancies affected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a secondary analysis of the WAPM study on COVID-19.

Objectives To evaluate the strength of association between maternal and pregnancy characteristics and the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnancies with laboratory confirmed COVID-19. Methods Secondary analysis of a multinational, cohort study on all consecutive pregnant women with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from February 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020 from 73 centers from 22 different countries. A confirmed case of COVID-19 was defined as a positive result on real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens. The primary outcome was a composite adverse fetal outcome, defined as the presence of either abortion (pregnancy loss before 22 weeks of gestations), stillbirth (intrauterine fetal death after 22 weeks of gestation), neonatal death (death of a live-born infant within the first 28 days of life), and perinatal death (either stillbirth or neonatal death). Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate parameters independently associated with the primary outcome. Logistic regression was reported as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Mean gestational age at diagnosis was 30.6+/-9.5 weeks, with 8.0% of women being diagnosed in the first, 22.2% in the second and 69.8% in the third trimester of pregnancy. There were six miscarriage (2.3%), six intrauterine device (IUD) (2.3) and 5 (2.0%) neonatal deaths, with an overall rate of perinatal death of 4.2% (11/265), thus resulting into 17 cases experiencing and 226 not experiencing composite adverse fetal outcome. Neither stillbirths nor neonatal deaths had congenital anomalies found at antenatal or postnatal evaluation. Furthermore, none of the cases experiencing IUD had signs of impending demise at arterial or venous Doppler. Neonatal deaths were all considered as prematurity-related adverse events. Of the 250 live-born neonates, one (0.4%) was found positive at RT-PCR pharyngeal swabs performed after delivery. The mother was tested positive during the third trimester of pregnancy. The newborn was asymptomatic and had negative RT-PCR test after 14 days of life. At logistic regression analysis, gestational age at diagnosis (OR: 0.85, 95% CI 0.8-0.9 per week increase; pPeer reviewe

Proyecto, investigación e innovación en urbanismo, arquitectura y diseño industrial

Actas de congresoLas VII Jornadas de Investigación “Encuentro y Reflexión” y I Jornadas de Investigación de becarios y doctorandos. Proyecto, investigación e innovación en Urbanismo, Arquitectura y Diseño Industrial se centraron en cuatro ejes: el proyecto; la dimensión tecnológica y la gestión; la dimensión social y cultural y la enseñanza en Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño Industrial, sustentados en las líneas prioritarias de investigación definidas epistemológicamente en el Consejo Asesor de Ciencia y Tecnología de esta Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Con el objetivo de afianzar continuidad, formación y transferencia de métodos, metodología y recursos se incorporó becarios y doctorandos de los Institutos de investigación. La Comisión Honoraria la integraron las tres Secretarias de Investigación de la Facultad, arquitectas Marta Polo, quien fundó y María del Carmen Franchello y Nora Gutiérrez Crespo quienes continuaron la tradición de la buena práctica del debate en la cotidianeidad de la propia Facultad. Los textos que conforman las VII Jornadas son los avances y resultados de las investigaciones realizadas en el bienio 2016-2018.Fil: Novello, María Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño; ArgentinaFil: Repiso, Luciana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño; ArgentinaFil: Mir, Guillermo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño; ArgentinaFil: Brizuela, Natalia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño; ArgentinaFil: Herrera, Fernanda. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño; ArgentinaFil: Períes, Lucas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño; ArgentinaFil: Romo, Claudia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño; ArgentinaFil: Gordillo, Natalia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño; ArgentinaFil: Andrade, Elena Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño; Argentin

Understanding and modelling the formation, growth, and failure of woody debris jams at bridge piers

The accumulation of large wood debris at bridge piers obstructs the flow, producing increased upstream water levels, large horizontal structural loadings, and exacerbated scour. These effects have frequently been held responsible for the failure of a large number of bridges around the world, as well as for increased risk of flooding of adjacent areas. Yet, little is known about the formation and growth of these debris piles. This thesis is aimed at deciphering the whole life of debris accumulations through an exhaustive set of 732 experiments in which debris elements were individually introduced into a flume and accumulated at a pier model downstream. In all experiments the growth of debris accumulations was observed to stop at a critical stage, after which the jam is removed from the pier by the flow. This condition typically coincides with the time when the dimensions of the accumulations are maxima. The values of the jam maximum size display a clear dependence on flow characteristics and debris length distribution, whilst other variables (such as pier diameter, debris diameter, debris density, water depth, pier shape) have shown much weaker effects. For a given debris length, accumulations are wide, shallow, and long at low flow velocities but become narrower, deeper, and shorter with increasing velocities. A comparison of accumulations formed with debris of uniform and non-uniform size distributions has revealed that the former can be up to 2.5 times wider than the latter. The effect of the shape of debris pieces was also studied by using cylindrical dowels, unbranched sticks and single-branched sticks. The maximum size of debris piles formed by idealised cylindrical debris is smaller than that of jams formed by natural wood of irregular shape. Experiments with branched debris resulted in jams significantly smaller and less stable than those with nonbranched sticks. On the base of the experimental results, a mechanistic theoretical model of idealised jam geometry and a reduced set of dynamic actions was developed through conservation of angular momentum. The resulting system of ODEs was studied in the phase plane, which revealed that the failure of the accumulation depends on both planar asymmetry and ratio between the length of the jam and the extension downstream of the pier, defined as tail. The former is necessary for any jam to fail, and higher asymmetries lead to less stable jams; the latter provides stability for large tails and small lengths, but yields instability when the ratio is reduced. Results from this thesis will pave the way for practical applications in bridge engineering and flood risk assessments, and inform future research about debris jams at bridge piers

Dataset for 'Formation, growth and failure of debris jams at bridge piers'

Experimental results for woody debris accumulations at bridge piers performed at the University of Southampton Hydraulics Lab. The spreadsheet contains: -Results of the Uniform Debris experiments (sheets U1 to T2), -Results of the Non-Uniform Debris experiments (sheets N1 to N13), -Results of the Repeated experiments (sheet R1). Data contained in the spreadsheet is self-explanatory and units are reported accordingly. Variables are referred to figures and descriptions reported in the paper.</span

Experimental data for the PhD Thesis &#39;Understanding and modelling the formation, growth, and failure of woody debris jams at bridge piers&#39; by Diego Panici

Data underpinning the experimental observations of the PhD thesis by Diego Panici. The experiments were performed at the University of Southampton hydraulic flume to investigate the phenomena of formation of debris jams at bridge piers and the maximum size that these can reach. The dataset includes flow conditions, debris features, maximum size and drag coefficient for a total of 732 experiments.</span