Destination Climate Adaptation

A key element in the product mix of destinations is climate. Climate represents a critical part of a destination’s economic and resource base such that changes in climate will trigger human responses in terms of demand and the type of activities that the climate will support. This threatens the competitiveness, sustainability, and economic viability of destinations. This research note focuses on destination adaptation to climate change that is anticipatory not reactive, based on projecting future climate scenarios for a destination and then assessing the tourism products that the future climate will support. It outlines an original data-driven approach to adaptation that is generalizable to other destinations. The research note describes an exploratory research collaboration in Croatia between tourism and climate scientists that allows, first, the modeling of a destination’s projected climate conditions and, second, the products and activities that can be supported by these climate scenarios using climate indices for tourism

experimental characterization of a cuag alloy for thermo mechanical applications non linear plasticity models and low cycle fatigue curves

Abstract The cyclic response and low-cycle fatigue strength of a CuAg0.1 alloy for thermo-mechanical applications are investigated by isothermal strain-controlled fatigue tests at three temperature levels (room temperature, 250°C, 300°C). Both cyclic and stabilized stress-strain responses are used for identifying the material parameters of non-linear kinematic (Armstrong-Frederick, Chaboche) and isotropic models. The identified material parameters are used in numerically simulated cycles, which are successfully compared to experiments. Linear regression analysis of experimental fatigue data allows the "mean" low-cycle fatigue curves to be estimated. Approximate statistical methods are finally adopted to evaluate the design low-cycle fatigue curves at prescribed failure probability and confidence levels

Techniques to accelerate thermo-mechanical simulations in large-scale FE models with nonlinear plasticity and cyclic input

A procedure is proposed to reduce the computation time of thermo-mechanical simulations with large nonlinear finite element (FE) models that involve cyclic plasticity. The procedure is helpful when it is practically unfeasible to simulate the huge amount of cycles needed to bring the material model to its fully stabilised state (an unfavourable situation that often occurs when small plastic strains are present), as required before assessing the structural durability. A "reference" test case, with combined kinematic and isotropic nonlinear model calibrated on actual material properties, is compared to accelerated models as well as pure kinematic models. Guidelines on how to set up the accelerated model are finally discussed

Changes of Vital Parameters after Administration of Butorphanol during Tiletamine-Zolazepam-Ketamine-Xylazine Anaesthesia for Joint Surgery in Miniature Pigs

The study compares the effects of butorphanol in pigs undergoing joint surgery in tiletamine-zolazepam-ketamine-xylazine (TKX) anaesthesia. A total of 12 pigs were divided into 2 groups by 6 animals - BUT (anaesthetized with TKX combination and butorphanol) and CON (control group - anaesthetized with TKX combination only). All pigs were sedated with a mix of tiletamin-zolazepam-ketamin-xylazin, put into total anaesthesia using propofol, and connected to an anaesthesiology unit (O2-Air). For 40 min we logged the heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), haemoglobin saturation by oxygen (SpO2) and end-tidal CO2 concentration (ETCO2) values. Ten minutes after connecting to the devices, the pigs in the BUT group were intravenously administered butorphanol (0.2 mg/kg) in the total volume of 2 ml, or physiological saline in the same volume. The pigs in the BUT group had a lower (p th, 10th and 25th min, and a lower RR in the 10th, 15th and 20th min. MAP, ETCO2 and SpO2 values did not differ substantially. Butorphanol can thus be identified as a suitable analgesic TKX supplement to anaesthesia of miniature pigs with minimum effect on vital functions

The International Surface Pressure Databank version 2

The International Surface Pressure Databank (ISPD) is the world's largest collection of global surface and sea-level pressure observations. It was developed by extracting observations from established international archives, through international cooperation with data recovery facilitated by the Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth (ACRE) initiative, and directly by contributing universities, organizations, and countries. The dataset period is currently 1768–2012 and consists of three data components: observations from land stations, marine observing systems, and tropical cyclone best track pressure reports. Version 2 of the ISPD (ISPDv2) was created to be observational input for the Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project (20CR) and contains the quality control and assimilation feedback metadata from the 20CR. Since then, it has been used for various general climate and weather studies, and an updated version 3 (ISPDv3) has been used in the ERA-20C reanalysis in connection with the European Reanalysis of Global Climate Observations project (ERA-CLIM). The focus of this paper is on the ISPDv2 and the inclusion of the 20CR feedback metadata. The Research Data Archive at the National Center for Atmospheric Research provides data collection and access for the ISPDv2, and will provide access to future versions

The first multi-model ensemble of regional climate simulations at kilometer-scale resolution. Part I: Evaluation of precipitation

Here we present the first multi-model ensemble of regional climate simulations at kilometer-scale horizontal grid spacing over a decade long period. A total of 23 simulations run with a horizontal grid spacing of ∼ 3 km, driven by ERA-Interim reanalysis, and performed by 22 European research groups are analysed. Six different regional climate models (RCMs) are represented in the ensemble. The simulations are compared against available high-resolution precipitation observations and coarse resolution (∼ 12 km) RCMs with parameterized convection. The model simulations and observations are compared with respect to mean precipitation, precipitation intensity and frequency, and heavy precipitation on daily and hourly timescales in different seasons. The results show that kilometer-scale models produce a more realistic representation of precipitation than the coarse resolution RCMs. The most significant improvements are found for heavy precipitation and precipitation frequency on both daily and hourly time scales in the summer season. In general, kilometer-scale models tend to produce more intense precipitation and reduced wet-hour frequency compared to coarse resolution models. On average, the multi-model mean shows a reduction of bias from ∼ −40 at 12 km to ∼ −3 at 3 km for heavy hourly precipitation in summer. Furthermore, the uncertainty ranges i.e. the variability between the models for wet hour frequency is reduced by half with the use of kilometer-scale models. Although differences between the model simulations at the kilometer-scale and observations still exist, it is evident that these simulations are superior to the coarse-resolution RCM simulations in the representing precipitation in the present-day climate, and thus offer a promising way forward for investigations of climate and climate change at local to regional scales. © 2021, The Author(s)

Catalytic Cycle of Multicopper Oxidases Studied by Combined Quantum- and Molecular-Mechanical Free-Energy Perturbation Methods

We have used combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical free-energy perturbation methods in combination with explicit solvent simulations to study the reaction mechanism of the multicopper oxidases, in particular the regeneration of the reduced state from the native intermediate. For 52 putative states of the trinuclear copper cluster, differing in the oxidation states of the copper ions and the protonation states of water- and O2-derived ligands, we have studied redox potentials, acidity constants, isomerisation reactions, as well as water- and O2 binding reactions. Thereby, we can propose a full reaction mechanism of the multicopper oxidases with atomic detail. We also show that the two copper sites in the protein communicate so that redox potentials and acidity constants of one site are affected by up to 0.2 V or 3 pKa units by a change in the oxidation state of the other site

The first multi-model ensemble of regional climate simulations at kilometer-scale resolution, part I: evaluation of precipitation

Here we present the first multi-model ensemble of regional climate simulations at kilometer-scale horizontal grid spacing over a decade long period. A total of 23 simulations run with a horizontal grid spacing of ∼3 km, driven by ERA-Interim reanalysis, and performed by 22 European research groups are analysed. Six different regional climate models (RCMs) are represented in the ensemble. The simulations are compared against available high-resolution precipitation observations and coarse resolution (∼ 12 km) RCMs with parameterized convection. The model simulations and observations are compared with respect to mean precipitation, precipitation intensity and frequency, and heavy precipitation on daily and hourly timescales in different seasons. The results show that kilometer-scale models produce a more realistic representation of precipitation than the coarse resolution RCMs. The most significant improvements are found for heavy precipitation and precipitation frequency on both daily and hourly time scales in the summer season. In general, kilometer-scale models tend to produce more intense precipitation and reduced wet-hour frequency compared to coarse resolution models. On average, the multi-model mean shows a reduction of bias from ∼ −40% at 12 km to ∼ −3% at 3 km for heavy hourly precipitation in summer. Furthermore, the uncertainty ranges i.e. the variability between the models for wet hour frequency is reduced by half with the use of kilometer-scale models. Although differences between the model simulations at the kilometer-scale and observations still exist, it is evident that these simulations are superior to the coarse-resolution RCM simulations in the representing precipitation in the present-day climate, and thus offer a promising way forward for investigations of climate and climate change at local to regional scales

Reorganization Energy for Internal Electron Transfer in Multicopper Oxidases.

We have calculated the reorganization energy for the intramolecular electron transfer between the reduced type 1 copper site and the peroxy intermediate of the trinuclear cluster in the multicopper oxidase CueO. The calculations are performed at the combined quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) level, based on molecular dynamics simulations with tailored potentials for the two copper sites. We obtain a reorganization energy of 91-133 kJ/mol, depending on the theoretical treatment. The two Cu sites contribute by 12 and 22 kJ/mol to this energy, whereas the solvent contribution is 34 kJ/mol. The rest comes from the protein, involving small contributions from many residues. We have also estimated the energy difference between the two electron-transfer states and show that the reduction of the peroxy intermediate is exergonic by 43-87 kJ/mol, depending on the theoretical method. Both the solvent and the protein contribute to this energy difference, especially charged residues close to the two Cu sites. We compare these estimates with energies obtained from QM/MM optimizations and QM calculations in a vacuum and discuss differences between the results obtained at various levels of theory