Sensitivity analysis of a land surface scheme using multicriteria methods

Attempts to model surface-atmosphere interactions with greater physical realism have resulted in complex land surface schemes (LSS) with large numbers of parameters. A companion paper describes a multicriteria calibration procedure for extracting plot-scale estimates of the preferred ranges of these parameters from the various observational data sets that are now available. A complementary procedure is presented in this paper that provides an objective determination of the multicriteria sensitivity of the modeled variables to the parameters, thereby allowing the number of calibration parameters and hence the computational effort to be reduced. Two case studies are reported for the BATS model using data sets of typical quality but very different location and climatological regime (ARM-CART and Tucson). The sensitivity results were found to be consistent with the physical properties of the different environments, thereby supporting the reasonableness of the model formulation. Further, when the insensitive parameters are omitted from the calibration process, there is little degradation in the quality of the model description and little change in the preferred range of the remaining parameters. Copyright 1999 by the American Geophysical Union

Parameter estimation of a land surface scheme using multicriteria methods

Attempts to create models of surface-atmosphere interactions with greater physical realism have resulted in land surface schemes (LSS) with large numbers of parameters. The hope has been that these parameters can be assigned typical values by inspecting the literature. The potential for using the various observational data sets that are now available to extract plot-scale estimates for the parameters of a complex LSS via advanced parameter estimation methods developed for hydrological models is explored in this paper. Results are reported for two case studies using data sets of typical quality but very different location and climatological regime (ARM-CART and Tucson). The traditional single-criterion methods were found to be of limited value. However, a multicriteria approach was found to be effective in constraining the parameter estimates into physically plausible ranges when observations on at least one appropriate heat flux and one properly selected state variable are available. Copyright 1999 by the American Geophysical Union

Criminal Sentencing in the CRPD Era: Lessons from Singapore

On 27 April 2022, Singapore executed Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, a 33-year-old Malaysian who was convicted of trafficking 42.72 grams of heroin. His execution was carried out despite calls from United Nations (UN) human rights experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, for the government to commute his death sentence inter alia on the basis that Nagaenthran did not have access to procedural accommodations for his disability during his interrogation and death sentences should not be carried out on persons with serious psychosocial and intellectual disabilities. Nagaenthran’s execution has put Singapore’s criminal legal system, particularly in respect of its treatment of offenders with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, under international scrutiny

华北克拉通北缘晚中生代火山岩Sr-Nd-Pb同位素填图及其构造意义

辽宁西部广泛分布着晚中生代火山岩，横跨华北克拉通和兴> 蒙造山带两大构造单元，一般认为它们是以在这一地区发育的两条主要断裂———西拉木伦河断裂和赤峰> 开源断裂为界。这些火山作用曾被认为是中生代伊泽奈崎板块西向或西北向消减作用的结果。在岩性上它们主要以中酸性岩石为主，玄武岩等中基性岩石较少。为查明下伏岩石圈对这些岩浆作用成因的影响，对其中的SiO2 含量 开源断裂两侧为界，两侧火山岩的同位素特征存在显著区别。南区有明显的EMI 特征并具EMI-PM 混合趋势，而北区则显示了原始或略亏损的特征。南北两区之间的过渡带（介于西拉木伦河断裂和赤峰> 开源断裂之间）则表现了同位素组成上相应的过渡特征。这一地球化学观测与已有的地质和地球物理资料颇为吻合。基于新生代幔源岩石化学反演的中国东部陆下地幔化学区划研究揭示了克拉通下(subcratonic)岩石圈地幔与EMI 存在着密切关系。本研究所提供的地球化学证据说明了采用中生代中基性岩类作为类似研究途径的可行性，并进一步提出对华北克拉通边缘中生代火山作用成因另一种可能的解释，即古消减带物质的活化有可能对华北北缘火山岩源区物质组成产生重要影响。Late Mesozoic volcanic rocks are extensively spread on both sides of northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC), where is the boundary between an Archean craton to the south and a Paleozoic orogenic belt, Xing an- Mongolia Orogenic Belt (XMOB), to the north. Two major east- west trending faults, Kaiyuan- Chifeng Fault (KCF) and Xar Moron He Fault (XHF) develop in this margin zone as a boundary between two tectonic domains. The volcanism has been thought to be the magmatic response to the west- , or no...published_or_final_versio

A new hybrid approach to human error probability quantification-applications in maritime operations

Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) has always been an essential research issue in safety critical systems. Cognitive Reliability Error Analysis Method (CREAM), as a well-known second generation HRA method is capable of conducting both retrospective and prospective analysis, thus being widely used in many sectors. However, the needs of addressing the use of a deterministic approach to configure common performance conditions (CPCs) and the assignment of the same importance to all the CPCs in a traditional CREAM method reveal a significant research gap to be fulfilled. This paper describes a modified CREAM methodology based on an Evidential Reasoning (ER) approach and a Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique for making human error probability quantification in CREAM rational. An illustrative case study associated with maritime operations is presented. The proposed method is validated by sensitivity analysis and the quantitative analysis result is verified through comparing the real data collected from Shanghai coastal waters. Its main contribution lies in that it for the first time addresses the data incompleteness in HEP, given that the previous relevant studies mainly focus on the fuzziness in data. The findings will provide useful insights for quantitative assessment of seafarers' errors to reduce maritime risks due to human errors

Isolation and Characterization of Batatasin III and 3,4’- Dihydroxy-5-methoxybibenzyl: A Pair of Positional Isomers from Sunipia scariosa

Purpose: To isolate and characterize chemical compounds of biological importance from the whole plant of Sunipia scariosa.Methods: The whole plant of Sunipia scariosa was extracted with methanol (MeOH) and chromatographed on silica gel and sephadex LH-20 to afford the pure isolates. High perfomance liquild chromatography (HPLC) was used for further purification of the isolated compounds. Characterization ofthe isolated compounds was achieved by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS).Results: Batatasin III (3,3’-dihydroxy-5-methoxybibenzyl) and  3,4’-dihydroxy-5-methoxybibenzyl, a pair of positional isomers, were isolated from the whole plant of Sunipia scariosa. The yields of the two isomers were 60 and 40 %, respectively, from the mixture of two  compounds.Conclusion: Batatasin III and 3,4’-dihydroxy-5-methoxybibenzyl, a pair of positional isomers were successfully isolated from the whole plant of Sunipia scariosa for the first time.Keywords: Sunipia scariosa, Batatasin III, 3,4’-Dihydroxy-5-methoxybibenzyl, Isomer

Integrin-mediated interactions with extracellular matrix proteins for nucleus pulposus cells of the human intervertebral disc.

The extracellular matrix (ECM) of the human intervertebral disc is rich in molecules that interact with cells through integrin-mediated attachments. Porcine nucleus pulposus (NP) cells have been shown to interact with laminin (LM) isoforms LM-111 and LM-511 through select integrins that regulate biosynthesis and cell attachment. Since human NP cells lose many phenotypic characteristics with age, attachment and interaction with the ECM may be altered. Expression of LM-binding integrins was quantified for human NP cells using flow cytometry. The cell-ECM attachment mechanism was determined by quantifying cell attachment to LM-111, LM-511, or type II collagen after functionally blocking specific integrin subunits. Human NP cells express integrins β1, α3, and α5, with over 70% of cells positive for each subunit. Blocking subunit β1 inhibited NP cell attachment to all substrates. Blocking subunits α1, α2, α3, and α5 simultaneously, but not individually, inhibits NP cell attachment to laminins. While integrin α6β1 mediated porcine NP cell attachment to LM-111, we found integrins α3, α5, and β1 instead contributed to human NP cell attachment. These findings identify integrin subunits that may mediate interactions with the ECM for human NP cells and could be used to promote cell attachment, survival, and biosynthesis in cell-based therapeutics

Influence of Additive Manufactured Scaffold Architecture on the Distribution of Surface Strains and Fluid Flow Shear Stresses and Expected Osteochondral Cell Differentiation

Scaffolds for regenerative medicine applications should instruct cells with the appropriate signals, including biophysical stimuli such as stress and strain, to form the desired tissue. Apart from that, scaffolds, especially for load-bearing applications, should be capable of providing mechanical stability. Since both scaffold strength and stress–strain distributions throughout the scaffold depend on the scaffold’s internal architecture, it is important to understand how changes in architecture influence these parameters. In this study, four scaffold designs with different architectures were produced using additive manufacturing. The designs varied in fiber orientation, while fiber diameter, spacing, and layer height remained constant. Based on micro-CT (μCT) scans, finite element models (FEMs) were derived for finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). FEA of scaffold compression was validated using μCT scan data of compressed scaffolds. Results of the FEA and CFD showed a significant impact of scaffold architecture on fluid shear stress and mechanical strain distribution. The average fluid shear stress ranged from 3.6 mPa for a 0/90 architecture to 6.8 mPa for a 0/90 offset architecture, and the surface shear strain from 0.0096 for a 0/90 offset architecture to 0.0214 for a 0/90 architecture. This subsequently resulted in variations of the predicted cell differentiation stimulus values on the scaffold surface. Fluid shear stress was mainly influenced by pore shape and size, while mechanical strain distribution depended mainly on the presence or absence of supportive columns in the scaffold architecture. Together, these results corroborate that scaffold architecture can be exploited to design scaffolds with regions that guide specific tissue development under compression and perfusion. In conjunction with optimization of stimulation regimes during bioreactor cultures, scaffold architecture optimization can be used to improve scaffold design for tissue engineering purposes