New image processing tools for structural dynamic monitoring

This paper presents an introduction to structural damage assessment using image processing on real data (non ideal conditions). Our contribution is much more a groundwork than a classical experimental validation. After measuring the bridge dynamic parameter on a small resolution video, we conjointly present advantages and limitations of our method. Finally we introduce several "computer vision" based rules and focus on the technical ability to detect damage using camera and video motion estimation

Repeated aeolian deflation during the Allerød/GI-1a-c in the coversand lowland of NW Belgium

The results of multi-disciplinary research carried out on the deposits of the Moerbeke "Driehoek" site, located along the northern bank of the extensive Moervaart palaeolake (NW Belgium), are presented. The multi-proxy study, including sedimentological (organic matter, calcium carbonate and grain-size) and botanical (pollen, macrofossils, NPP) analyses, provided evidence of repeated aeolian deflation during the Allerod. Our results demonstrate, in combination with evidence from other soil archives within the Moervaart area, that the Allerod period in NW Europe was sedimentologically much less stable than hitherto assumed, especially during the GI-1c2 event and middle Allerod. Some of the Allerod deflation events were caused by centennial abrupt climatic oscillations, such as the short but pronounced cold GI-1c2 event, while others were likely the result of intense forest fires or a combination of both. These observations call for a revision of the existing Lateglacial litho- and chronostratigraphic schemes for the sand-belt of northern Europe

Pengaruh Kesadaran Politik terhadap Pasrtisipasi Politik Masyarakat Kecamatan Tenayan Raya dalam Pemilihan Umum Walikota Pekanbaru Tahun 2017

One manifestation of political consciousness is political participation in the election of the mayor. Political participation based on political consciousness will encourage people to exercise their right to vote rationally and in accordance with the aspirations of the people. But in reality, the level of voter participation in the election mayor of Pekanbaru in 2017 is still lacking. Percentage of voters\u27 participation in sub district Tenayan Raya only reached 43.72%, which means there are still many voters who did not participate that reached 56.28%. This study aims to explain the effect of political awareness on political participation. This study uses quantitative descriptive by spreading questionnaires to 100 respondents in four urban villages in Tenayan Raya sub district, then the data is analyzed by using logistic regression. Based on the result of research, it can be concluded that there is a significant influence between political awareness on political participation because the value of p value Chi-Square 13,105 > Chi-Square table 3,841. In the Pseudo R Square table of 16.4% political awareness contribution to political participation, in other words 83.6% other factors from outside the model that explain the dependent variable. Based on the analysis of political awareness data of Tenayan Raya sub-district is low down to 68%, while the political participation of Tenayan Raya community in the election of mayor of Pekanbaru is also categorized as low by 94%

Non-destructive evaluation of the spatial variability of reinforced concrete structures

La variabilité spatiale est une caractéristique importante qui représente l’hétérogénéité du béton des ouvrages. La connaissance de la variabilité des propriétés d’un béton sur ouvrage représente un intérêt pour l’évaluation de l’endommagement des différentes parties d’ouvrage, ainsi que pour l’évaluation de la pertinence et de la représentativité d’essais plus locaux. Le travail repose sur des séries de mesures réalisées sur corps d’épreuve en site-test, et sur ouvrage. Les techniques de contrôle non destructif (CND) considérées sont choisits parmi les plus usuelles en bureau d’étude : vitesse ultrasonore (US), résistivité électrique, rebond et radar (GPR). En laboratoire, le site-test est constitué de cinq dalles (2*2.45*0.2 m3) en béton armé. Sur site, dans le cadre du projet national RGCU-ACDC, les mesures de CND ont été effectuées sur les piles du pont de Marly. Les données sont ensuite étudiées avec les outils de la statistique et de la géostatistique pour quantifier la variabilité spatiale du béton. L’évaluation de la variabilité des mesures à différentes échelles montre que les techniques de CND sont des outils adaptés pour estimer la variabilité du béton des ouvrages en béton armé

Focal plane wavefront sensing on SUBARU/SCExAO

Focal plane wavefront sensing is an elegant solution for wavefront sensing since near-focal images of any source taken by a detector show distortions in the presence of aberrations. Non-Common Path Aberrations and the Low Wind Effect both have the ability to limit the achievable contrast of the finest coronagraphs coupled with the best extreme adaptive optics systems. To correct for these aberrations, the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics instrument hosts many focal plane wavefront sensors using detectors as close to the science detector as possible. We present seven of them and compare their implementation and efficiency on SCExAO. This work will be critical for wavefront sensing on next generation of extremely large telescopes that might present similar limitations

Functionally Redundant RXLR Effectors from <em>Phytophthora infestans</em> Act at Different Steps to Suppress Early flg22-Triggered Immunity

Genome sequences of several economically important phytopathogenic oomycetes have revealed the presence of large families of so-called RXLR effectors. Functional screens have identified RXLR effector repertoires that either compromise or induce plant defense responses. However, limited information is available about the molecular mechanisms underlying the modes of action of these effectors in planta. The perception of highly conserved pathogen- or microbe-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs/MAMPs), such as flg22, triggers converging signaling pathways recruiting MAP kinase cascades and inducing transcriptional re-programming, yielding a generic anti-microbial response. We used a highly synchronizable, pathogen-free protoplast-based assay to identify a set of RXLR effectors from Phytophthora infestans (PiRXLRs), the causal agent of potato and tomato light blight that manipulate early stages of flg22-triggered signaling. Of thirty-three tested PiRXLR effector candidates, eight, called Suppressor of early Flg22-induced Immune response (SFI), significantly suppressed flg22-dependent activation of a reporter gene under control of a typical MAMP-inducible promoter (pFRK1-Luc) in tomato protoplasts. We extended our analysis to Arabidopsis thaliana, a non-host plant species of P. infestans. From the aforementioned eight SFI effectors, three appeared to share similar functions in both Arabidopsis and tomato by suppressing transcriptional activation of flg22-induced marker genes downstream of post-translational MAP kinase activation. A further three effectors interfere with MAMP signaling at, or upstream of, the MAP kinase cascade in tomato, but not in Arabidopsis. Transient expression of the SFI effectors in Nicotiana benthamiana enhances susceptibility to P. infestans and, for the most potent effector, SFI1, nuclear localization is required for both suppression of MAMP signaling and virulence function. The present study provides a framework to decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying the manipulation of host MAMP-triggered immunity (MTI) by P. infestans and to understand the basis of host versus non-host resistance in plants towards P. infestans

The challenge of unprecedented floods and droughts in risk management

Risk management has reduced vulnerability to floods and droughts globally1,2, yet their impacts are still increasing3. An improved understanding of the causes of changing impacts is therefore needed, but has been hampered by a lack of empirical data4,5. On the basis of a global dataset of 45 pairs of events that occurred within the same area, we show that risk management generally reduces the impacts of floods and droughts but faces difficulties in reducing the impacts of unprecedented events of a magnitude not previously experienced. If the second event was much more hazardous than the first, its impact was almost always higher. This is because management was not designed to deal with such extreme events: for example, they exceeded the design levels of levees and reservoirs. In two success stories, the impact of the second, more hazardous, event was lower, as a result of improved risk management governance and high investment in integrated management. The observed difficulty of managing unprecedented events is alarming, given that more extreme hydrological events are projected owing to climate change3

Panta Rhei benchmark dataset: socio-hydrological data of paired events of floods and droughts

As the adverse impacts of hydrological extremes increase in many regions of the world, a better understanding of the drivers of changes in risk and impacts is essential for effective flood and drought risk management and climate adaptation. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive, empirical data about the processes, interactions and feedbacks in complex human-water systems leading to flood and drought impacts. Here we present a benchmark dataset containing socio-hydrological data of paired events, i.e., two floods or two droughts that occurred in the same area. The 45 paired events occurred in 42 different study areas and cover a wide range of socio-economic and hydro-climatic conditions. The dataset is unique in covering both floods and droughts, in the number of cases assessed, and in the quantity of socio-hydrological data. The benchmark dataset comprises: 1) detailed review style reports about the events and key processes between the two events of a pair; 2) the key data table containing variables that assess the indicators which characterise management shortcomings, hazard, exposure, vulnerability and impacts of all events; 3) a table of the indicators-of-change that indicate the differences between the first and second event of a pair. The advantages of the dataset are that it enables comparative analyses across all the paired events based on the indicators-of-change and allows for detailed context- and location-specific assessments based on the extensive data and reports of the individual study areas. The dataset can be used by the scientific community for exploratory data analyses e.g. focused on causal links between risk management, changes in hazard, exposure and vulnerability and flood or drought impacts. The data can also be used for the development, calibration and validation of socio-hydrological models. The dataset is available to the public through the GFZ Data Services (Kreibich et al. 2023, link for review: https://dataservices.gfz-potsdam.de/panmetaworks/review/923c14519deb04f83815ce108b48dd2581d57b90ce069bec9c948361028b8c85/).</p