Intra-Storm Temporal Patterns of Rainfall in China Using Huff Curves

Intra-storm temporal distributions of precipitation are important for infiltration, runoff, and erosion process understanding and models. A convenient and established method for characterizing precipitation hyetographs is the use of non-dimensional Huff curves. In this study, 11,801 erosive rainfall events with 1 min resolution data collected over 30 to 40 years from 18 weather stations located across the central and eastern parts of China were analyzed to produce Huff curves. Each event was classified according to the quartile period within the event that contained the greatest fraction of rainfall. The results showed that 38.3% of events had the maximum rainfall amounts in the first quartile, followed by the second (26.8%), third (22.4%), and fourth (12.5%) quartiles. Quartile I and II events were generally characteristic of shorter duration and heavier intensity events. Quartile I events averaged 23% shorter durations than quartile IV events, whereas the mean intensity (Iavg), mean maximum 30 min intensity (I30), and mean rainfall erosivity index (EI30) were 1.71, 1.22, and 1.23 times greater, respectively, than those for quartile IV and were significant at a 5% level based on two-sample t-tests. The proportion of quartile I events was less for events of longer duration, whereas the proportions of quartile III and IV events were greater. Two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests suggested that regional Huff curves can be derived for the central and eastern parts of China. Regional Huff curves developed in this study exhibited dissimilarities in terms of the percentages of storms for different quartiles and the shapes of the curves compared to those reported for Illinois, peninsular Malaysia, and Santa Catarina in Brazil

Analysis of Storage State and Condensation Risk of Paddy Pile Based on Temperature and Humidity Field Cloud Map

Taking paddy as the research object,the integrated temperature and humidity sensors was used to carry out monitoring at different condensation prone locations by simulation of the actual granary.The temperature and relative humidity of different positions of grain stack from winter to summer were measured.Then the cloud map of the temperature field and humidity field of the paddy pile were drawn using Matrix Laboratory simulation software (abbreviated as MATLAB) to analyze the distribution of temperature and humidity fields of paddy.Based on the model of grain equilibrium absolute humidity and dew point temperature (CAE model),the different states (equilibrium state,saturation state,adsorption state or desorption state) of the dangerous point of rice pile were calculated,and the change rules were explored.The results of this paper will provide a theoretical basis for reducing grain storage loss and realizing grain storage safety

The development and evaluation of individualized templates to assist transoral C2 articular mass or transpedicular screw placement in TARP-IV procedures: adult cadaver specimen study

OBJECTIVES: The transoral atlantoaxial reduction plate system treats irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation from transoral atlantoaxial reduction plate-I to transoral atlantoaxial reduction plate-III. However, this system has demonstrated problems associated with screw loosening, atlantoaxial fixation and concealed or manifest neurovascular injuries. This study sought to design a set of individualized templates to improve the accuracy of anterior C2 screw placement in the transoral atlantoaxial reduction plate-IV procedure. METHODS: A set of individualized templates was designed according to thin-slice computed tomography data obtained from 10 human cadavers. The templates contained cubic modules and drill guides to facilitate transoral atlantoaxial reduction plate positioning and anterior C2 screw placement. We performed 2 stages of cadaveric experiments with 2 cadavers in stage one and 8 in stage two. Finally, guided C2 screw placement was evaluated by reading postoperative computed tomography images and comparing the planned and inserted screw trajectories. RESULTS: There were two cortical breaching screws in stage one and three in stage two, but only the cortical breaching screws in stage one were ranked critical. In stage two, the planned entry points and the transverse angles of the anterior C2 screws could be simulated, whereas the declination angles could not be simulated due to intraoperative blockage of the drill bit and screwdriver by the upper teeth. CONCLUSIONS: It was feasible to use individualized templates to guide transoral C2 screw placement. Thus, these drill templates combined with transoral atlantoaxial reduction plate-IV, may improve the accuracy of transoral C2 screw placement and reduce related neurovascular complications

Constructing a nomogram based on the distribution of thyroid nodules and suspicious lateral cervical lymph nodes in fine-needle aspiration biopsies to predict metastasis in papillary thyroid carcinoma

PurposeElevated concentrations of thyroglobulin eluent is a risk factor for lateral cervical lymph node metastasis (LLNM) in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). We aimed to develop a practical nomogram based on the distribution of thyroid nodules and the presence of suspicious lateral cervical lymph nodes in fine-needle aspiration biopsies (LN-FNABs), including the cytopathology and the suspicious lateral cervical lymph node (LLN) thyroglobulin eluent (Tg), to predict the possibility of LLNM preoperatively in patients with PTC.MethodsThe clinical data of PTC patients who were admitted to the Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2022 to May 2023 to undergo fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) were included in this study. A total of 208 patients in 2022 served as the training set (70%), and 89 patients in 2023 served as the validation set (30%). The clinical characteristics and LN-FNAB results were collected to determine the risk factors of LLNM. A preoperative nomogram was developed for predicting LLNM based on the results of the univariate and multivariate analyses. Internal calibration, external calibration, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were performed for these models.ResultsThe multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the maximum thyroid nodule diameter (Odds Ratio (OR) 2.323, 95% CI 1.383 to 3.904; p = 0.001), Tg level (OR 1.007, 95% CI 1.005 to 1.009; p = 0.000), Tg divided by serum thyroglobulin, (Tg/sTg) [odds ratio (OR) 1.005, 95% CI 1.001 to 1.008; p = 0.009], and cytopathology (OR 9.738, 95% CI 3.678 to 25.783; p = 0.000) (all p <  0.05) had a significant impact on the LLNM of patients with suspicious LLNs. The nomogram showed a better predictive value in both the training cohort [area under the curve, (AUC) 0.937, 95% CI 0.895 to 0.966] and the validation cohort (AUC 0.957, 95% CI 0.892 to 0.989). The nomogram also showed excellent internal and external calibration in predicting LLNM. According to the DCA, the diagnostic performance of this model was dependent on the following variables: maximum thyroid nodule diameter, Tg level, Tg/sTg, and cytopathology.ConclusionBased on the aforementioned risk factors, we believe that it is necessary to establish a personalized LLNM model for patients with PTC. Using this practical nomogram, which combines clinical and Tg risk factors, surgeons could accurately predict the possibility of LLNM preoperatively. The nomogram will also help surgeons to establish personalized treatment plans before surgery

Trace the Accretion Geometry of H 1743--322 with Type C Quasi-periodic Oscillations in Multiple Outbursts

We present a systematic analysis of type C quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) observations of H 1743--322 throughout the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) era. We find that, while different outbursts have significant flux differences, they show consistent positive correlations between the QPO fractional root-mean-square (rms) amplitude and non-thermal fraction of the emission, which indicate an independence of the intrinsic QPO rms on individual outburst brightness in H 1743--322. However, the dependence of the QPO rms on frequency is different between the outburst rise and decay phases, where QPO fractional rms of the decay phase is significantly lower than that of the rise phase at low frequencies. The spectral analysis also reveals different ranges of coronal temperature between the two outburst stages. A semi-quantitative analysis shows that the Lense-Thirring precession model could be responsible for the QPO rms differences, requiring a variable coronal geometric shape. However, the variable-Comptonization model could also account for the findings. The fact that the rms differences and the hysteresis traces in the hardness-intensity diagram (HID) accompany each other indicates a connection between the two phenomena. By correlating the findings with QPO phase lags and the quasi-simultaneous radio flux previously published, we propose there could be corona-jet transitions in H 1743--322 similar to those that have been recently reported in GRS 1915+105.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figure

Intra-Storm Temporal Patterns of Rainfall in China Using Huff Curves

Intra-storm temporal distributions of precipitation are important for infiltration, runoff, and erosion process understanding and models. A convenient and established method for characterizing precipitation hyetographs is the use of non-dimensional Huff curves. In this study, 11,801 erosive rainfall events with 1 min resolution data collected over 30 to 40 years from 18 weather stations located across the central and eastern parts of China were analyzed to produce Huff curves. Each event was classified according to the quartile period within the event that contained the greatest fraction of rainfall. The results showed that 38.3% of events had the maximum rainfall amounts in the first quartile, followed by the second (26.8%), third (22.4%), and fourth (12.5%) quartiles. Quartile I and II events were generally characteristic of shorter duration and heavier intensity events. Quartile I events averaged 23% shorter durations than quartile IV events, whereas the mean intensity (Iavg), mean maximum 30 min intensity (I30), and mean rainfall erosivity index (EI30) were 1.71, 1.22, and 1.23 times greater, respectively, than those for quartile IV and were significant at a 5% level based on two-sample t-tests. The proportion of quartile I events was less for events of longer duration, whereas the proportions of quartile III and IV events were greater. Two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests suggested that regional Huff curves can be derived for the central and eastern parts of China. Regional Huff curves developed in this study exhibited dissimilarities in terms of the percentages of storms for different quartiles and the shapes of the curves compared to those reported for Illinois, peninsular Malaysia, and Santa Catarina in Brazil.This article is published as Yin, Shui-qing, Yun Xie, Mark A. Nearing, Wen-li Guo, and Zheng-yuan Zhu. "Intra-Storm Temporal Patterns of Rainfall in China Using Huff Curves." Transactions of the ASABE 59, no. 6 (2016): 1619-1632. DOI: 10.13031/trans.59.11010. Posted with permission.</p

Morphological character of cervical spine for anterior transpedicular screw fixation

Background: Anterior cervical interbody grafts/cages combined with a plate were frequently used in multilevel discectomies/corpectomies. In order to avoid additional posterior stabilization in patients who undergo anterior reconstructive surgery, an anterior cervical transpedicular screw fixation, which offers higher stability is desirable. We investigated in this study the anatomical (morphologic) characters for cervical anterior transpedicular screw fixation. Materials and Methods: Left pedicle parameters were measured on computed tomography (CT) images based on 36 cervical spine CT scans from healthy subjects. The parameters included outer pedicle width (Distance from lateral to medial pedicle surface in the coronal plane), outer pedicle height (OPH) (Distance from upper to lower pedicle surface in the sagittal plane), maximal pedicle axis length (MPAL), distance transverse insertion point (DIP), distance of the insertion point to the upper end plate (DIUP), pedicle sagittal transverse angle (PSTA) and pedicle transverse angle (PTA) at C3 to C7. Results: The values of outer pedicle width and MPAL in males were larger than in females from C3 to C7. The OPH in males was larger than in females at C3 to C6, but there was no difference at C7. The DIP and PTA were significantly greater in males than in females at C3, but there was no difference in the angle at C4-7. The PSTA was not statistically different between genders at C3, 4, 7, but this value in males was larger than females at C5, 6. The DIUP was significantly greater in males at C3, 4, 6, 7 but was non significant at C5. Conclusions: The placement of cervical anterior transpedicular screws should be individualized for each patient and based on a detailed preoperative planning