Multivariable regression analysis and hot-spot stress approach into fatigue life estimations of welded joints

Kolmen eri hitsausliitoksen väsymisikä arvio on analysoitu monimuuttuja regressio analyysin avulla. Regression perustana on laaja S-N tietokanta joka on kerätty kirjallisuudesta. Tarkastellut liitokset ovat tasalevy liitos, krusiformi liitos ja pitkittäisripa levyssä. Muuttujina ovat jännitysvaihtelu, kuormitetun levyn paksuus ja kuormitus tapa. Paksuus effekti on käsitelty uudelleen kaikkia kolmea liitosta ajatellen. Uudelleen käsittelyn avulla on varmistettu paksuus effektin olemassa olo ennen monimuuttuja regressioon siirtymistä. Lineaariset väsymisikä yhtalöt on ajettu kolmelle hitsausliitokselle ottaen huomioon kuormitetun levyn paksuus sekä kuormitus tapa. Väsymisikä yhtalöitä on verrattu ja keskusteltu testitulosten valossa, jotka on kerätty kirjallisuudesta. Neljä tutkimustaon tehty kerättyjen väsymistestien joukosta ja erilaisia väsymisikä arvio metodeja on käytetty väsymisiän arviointiin. Tuloksia on tarkasteltu ja niistä keskusteltu oikeiden testien valossa. Tutkimuksissa on katsottu 2mm ja 6mm symmetristäpitkittäisripaa levyssä, 12.7mm epäsymmetristä pitkittäisripaa, 38mm symmetristä pitkittäisripaa vääntökuormituksessa ja 25mm/38mm kuorman kantavaa krusiformi liitosta vääntökuormituksessa. Mallinnus on tehty niin lähelle testi liitosta kuin mahdollista. Väsymisikä arviointi metodit sisältävät hot-spot metodin jossa hot-spot jännitys on laskettu kahta lineaarista ja epälineaarista ekstrapolointiakäyttäen sekä paksuuden läpi integrointia käyttäen. Lovijännitys ja murtumismekaniikka metodeja on käytetty krusiformi liitosta laskiessa.

European climate variations over the past half-millennium reconstructed from groundwater

Temperature reconstructions for recent centuries are the basis of estimations of the natural variability in the climate system before and during the onset of anthropogenic perturbation. Here we present, for the first time, an independent and physically based reconstruction of mean annual temperature over the past half millennium obtained from groundwater in France. The reconstructed noble gas temperature (NGT) record suggests cooler than present climate conditions throughout the 16th-19th centuries. Periods of warming occur in the 17th-18th and 20th century, while cooling is reconstructed in the 19th century. A noticeable coincidence with other temperature records is demonstrated. Deuterium excess varies in parallel with the NGT, and indicates variation in the seasonality of the aquifer recharge; whereas high excess air in groundwater indicates periods with high oscillations of the water table.

Continent wide response of mountain vegetation to climate change

Climate impact studies have indicated ecological fingerprints of recent global warming across a wide range of habitats. Whereas these studies have shown responses from various local case studies, a coherent large-scale account on temperature-driven changes of biotic communities has been lacking. Here we use 867 vegetation samples above the treeline from 60 summit sites in all major European mountain systems to show that ongoing climate change gradually transforms mountain plant communities. We provide evidence that the more cold-adapted species decline and the more warm-adapted species increase, a process described here as thermophilisation. At the scale of individual mountains this general trend may not be apparent, but at the¦larger, continental scale we observed a significantly higher abundance of thermophilic species in 2008, compared with 2001. Thermophilisation of mountain plant communities mirrors the degree of recent warming and is more pronounced in areas where the temperature increase has been higher. In view of the projected climate change the observed transformation suggests a progressive decline of cold mountain habitats and their biota.

Numerical analysis of including phase change material in a domestic hot water cylinder

The domestic hot water cylinder incorporates encapsulated pcm placed in 57 vertical pipes. The use of PCM increases the thermal energy storage capacity of the cylinder and allows the use of low cost electricity during low peak periods. After experimental validation the numerical model developed in the project will be used to optimize the distribution of the pcm inside the water tank.

Climatic potential for wine grape production in the tropical north region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil

The tropical north region of Minas Gerais State is one of the least developed of Brazil and viticulture could be an alternative to develop its agriculture zone. The objective of this work was to evaluate the climatic potential of that region for wine grape production. The evaluations were carried out applying the Multicriteria Climatic Classification System (Geoviticulture MCC System), that utilizes three reference climatic indexes (Dryness Index - DI, Heliothermal Index - HI and Cool Night Index - CI). Three locations - Pirapora (17º 21'S, 44º56'W, 489m), Montes Claros (16º43'S, 43º52'W, 647m) and Diamantina (18º15'S, 43º36'W, 1297m) - and two potential production cycles along the year - October to March (spring-summer period) and April to September (autumn-winter period) - were evaluated. The results showed that in the spring-summer period (SS period) Pirapora and Montes Claros presented a 'humid, very warm and with warm nights' of viticultural climate, according to MCC System. For the autumn-winter period (AW period), those two regions presented a 'moderately dry, warm and with temperate nights' according to MCC System. Otherwise, the Diamantina SS period presented a 'humid, temperate warm and with temperate nights' viticultural climate. In the AW period, the Diamantina climatic condition values represent a 'subhumid, temperate and with cool nights' viticultural climate. Based on those results it can be concluded that the North Region of Minas Gerais State has a great climatic potential to became a grape-growing region for wine-making, specially in the autumn-winter period.

Genetic variation for carbon isotope composition in Juglans regia L.: relationships with growth, phenology and climate of origin

Among the traits of breeding interest for the common walnut tree Juglans regia L., characteristics such as timing of budbreak and leaf fall, water-use efficiency and growth performance are regarded as being of utmost relevance in Mediterranean conditions. The authors evaluated intraspecific variation in $\delta$13C (carbon isotope composition, surrogate of intrinsic water-use efficiency, WUE$_{\rm i}$) for 22 J. regia families grown in a progeny test under supplementary irrigation, and investigated whether such variation correlated with climatic indicators of native habitats. The genetic relationships between $\delta$13C, growth and phenology were also assessed during two consecutive years. Overall, the most water-use-efficient families (i.e. with higher $\delta$13C), which originated mainly from drought-prone provenance regions which have a high vapour pressure deficit and low rainfall, exhibited less height growth and smaller DBH. Using a stepwise regression procedure, $\delta$13C was included as the main explanatory variable of genotypic variation in growth traits, together with growing season duration (for DBH in both years) and flushing (for height in 2007). It was concluded that WUE$_{\rm i}$ is largely unconnected to phenology effects in the explanation of growth performance for J. regia, therefore suggesting the opportunity of simultaneously selecting for low WUE$_{\rm i}$ and extended growing period to maximise productivity in non-water-limited environments.

Testing the influence of topography and material properties on catchment-scale soil moisture patterns using remotely sensed vegetation patterns in a humid temperate catchment, northern Britain

In order to evaluate the relationship between the apparent complexity of hillslope soil moisture and the emergent patterns of catchment hydrological behaviour and water quality, we need fine-resolution catchment-wide data on soil moisture characteristics. This study proposes a methodology whereby vegetation patterns obtained from high-resolution orthorectified aerial photographs are used as an indicator of soil moisture characteristics. This enables us to examine a set of hypotheses regarding what drives the spatial patterns of soil moisture at the catchment scale (material properties or topography). We find that the pattern of Juncus effusus vegetation is controlled largely by topography and mediated by the catchment's material properties. Characterizing topography using the topographic index adds value to the soil moisture predictions relative to slope or upslope contributing area (UCA). However, these predictions depart from the observed soil moisture patterns at very steep slopes or low UCAs. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Climate and human forcing of Alpine river flow

River flow in Alpine environments is likely to be highly sensitive to climate change because of the effects of warming upon snow and ice, and hence the intra-annual distribution of river runoff. It is also likely to be influenced strongly by human impacts both upon hydrology (e.g. flow abstraction) and river regulation. This paper compares the river flow and sediment flux of two Alpine drainage basins over the last 5 to 7 decades, one that is largely unimpacted by human activities, one strongly impacted by flow abstraction for hydroelectricity. The analysis shows that both river flow and sediment transport capacity are strongly dependent upon the effects of temperature and precipitation availability upon snow accumulation. As the latter tends to increase annual maximum flows, and given the non-linear form of most sediment transport laws, current warming trends may lead to increased sedimentation in Alpine rivers. However, extension to a system impacted upon by flow abstraction reveals the dominant effect that human activity can have upon river sedimentation but also how human response to sediment management has co-evolved with climate forcing to make disentangling the two very difficult.

Climate Change, Neutrality and the Harm Principle

This paper aims at evaluating the compatibility of coercive climate policies with liberal neutrality. More precisely, it focuses on the doctrine of state neutrality as associated with the "harm principle". It argues that given the difficulty of attributing causal responsibilities for climate harms to individuals, the harm principle doesn't work in this case, at least if one endorses a liberal atomistic ontology. Furthermore, the definition of what constitutes climate harms implies making moral assumptions, which makes it impossible to justify climate policies in a neutral way. Finally, the paper shows another consequence of applying neutrality to the case of climate change, that is the risk of a shift from political forms of decision-making to technocracy. Focusing too much on liberty of choice may (paradoxically) be to the detriment of political freedom. The paper concludes that climate change is an intrinsically moral issue and that it should be the occasion of a political debate about our current values and lifestyles. It should not be reduced to a mere question of carbon metric.

Genomic evidence for role of inversion 3RP of Drosophila melanogaster in facilitating climate change adaptation.

Chromosomal inversion polymorphisms are common in animals and plants, and recent models suggest that alternative arrangements spread by capturing different combinations of alleles acting additively or epistatically to favour local adaptation. It is also thought that inversions typically maintain favoured combinations for a long time by suppressing recombination between alternative chromosomal arrangements. Here, we consider patterns of linkage disequilibrium and genetic divergence in an old inversion polymorphism in Drosophila melanogaster (In(3R)Payne) known to be associated with climate change adaptation and a recent invasion event into Australia. We extracted, karyotyped and sequenced whole chromosomes from two Australian populations, so that changes in the arrangement of the alleles between geographically separated tropical and temperate areas could be compared. Chromosome-wide linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis revealed strong LD within the region spanned by In(3R)Payne. This genomic region also showed strong differentiation between the tropical and the temperate populations, but no differentiation between different karyotypes from the same population, after controlling for chromosomal arrangement. Patterns of differentiation across the chromosome arm and in gene ontologies were enhanced by the presence of the inversion. These data support the notion that inversions are strongly selected by bringing together combinations of genes, but it is still not clear if such combinations act additively or epistatically. Our data suggest that climatic adaptation through inversions can be dynamic, reflecting changes in the relative abundance of different forms of an inversion and ongoing evolution of allelic content within an inversion.

The economic relevance of climate variables in agriculture: the case of Spain

We estimate how climate variables affect price and acreage of productive farmland using the Ricardian approach. Furthermore, we use our estimations to evaluate the joint effects of possible cli- mate changes within the time horizon of 2010 and 2050. Our results show that the price of rainfed land in Spain tends to increase but rainfed acreage decreases. On the other hand, the effect on irrigated farmland price and acreage presents some mixed results, however, in the long run the dominant pattern is clearly increasing for both prices and acreage.

The economic relevance of climate variables in agriculture: The case of Spain

We estimate the impact of the different climate variables on the value of Spanish farmland. We distinguish between irrigated and non-irrigated lands and use data on temperature, precipitations, physical and socioeconomic characteristics to measure these effects on farm prices and in the number of hectares of farmland. We conclude presenting the main results of our analysis, region by region, and examining the policies that could be more effective to prevent undesired effects.

Relationships between climate and winter cereal grain quality in Finland and their potential for forecasting

Selostus: Sään vaikutus syysviljojen hehtolitran painoon ennusteen laadinnan näkökulmasta

Plantar flexor neuromuscular adjustments following match-play football in hot and cool conditions.

We assessed neuromuscular fatigue and recovery of the plantar flexors after playing football with or without severe heat stress. Neuromuscular characteristics of the plantar flexors were assessed in 17 male players at baseline and ∼30 min, 24, and 48 h after two 90-min football matches in temperate (∼20 °C and 55% rH) and hot (∼43 °C and 20% rH) environments. Measurements included maximal voluntary strength, muscle activation, twitch contractile properties, and rate of torque development and soleus EMG (i.e., root mean square activity) rise from 0 to 30, -50, -100, and -200 ms during maximal isometric contractions for plantar flexors. Voluntary activation and peak twitch torque were equally reduced (-1.5% and -16.5%, respectively; P < 0.05) post-matches relative to baseline in both conditions, the latter persisting for at least 48 h, whereas strength losses (∼5%) were not significant. Absolute explosive force production declined (P < 0.05) 30 ms after contraction onset independently of condition, with no change at any other epochs. Globally, normalized rate of force development and soleus EMG activity rise values remained unchanged. In football, match-induced alterations in maximal and rapid torque production capacities of the plantar flexors are moderate and do not differ after competing in temperate and hot environments.