Assessment of the Intertropical Convergence Zone over the Atlantic Ocean through an Algorithm Based on Precipitation

The Intertropical Convergence Zone(ITCZ)is a key atmospheric system on a global scale,primarily driven by trade wind convergence near the equator.The ITCZ plays a crucial role in modulating the climate of the borders of tropical continental areas.For instance,Northeastern Brazil experiences a climate influenced by the ITCZ over the Atlantic Ocean.In some periods,the ITCZ exhibits double bands,known as the double ITCZ.While the features of the ITCZ have been described using various approaches and atmospheric variables,there is still a lack of regional studies focusing on the ITCZ and double ITCZ in the Atlantic Ocean.In this context,the main goals of this study are(1)to describe a simple algorithm based on precipitation to identify the ITCZ and double ITCZ,(2)to present a climatology(1997-2022)of the position,width,and intensity of these two convective bands,and(3)to investigate variabilities in the ITCZ characteristics associated with anomalies of sea surface temperature(SST)in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic oceans.The double ITCZ typically occurs southward of the main cloud band,and between February and April,both bands are more distant(~4.5°).In the western sector of the Atlantic Ocean,the ITCZ and its double band extend to more southerly latitudes in austral autumn.Considering the entire Atlantic basin,the annual mean of the latitudinal position,width,and intensity of the ITCZ is 4.9°N,4.2°,and 11 mm/day,respectively,while for the double ITCZ,it is 0.4°N,2.6°,10.3 mm/day,respectively.While the SST anomalies in the Pacific Ocean(El Niño and La Niña episodes)affect more the ITCZ width,the SST anomalies in the Tropical South Atlantic affect both its position and width.

Consolidation of soft clay foundation improved by geosyntheticreinforced granular columns:Numerical evaluation

Soft clays are problematic soils as they present high compressibility and low shear strength.There are several methods for improving in situ conditions of soft clays.Based on the geotechnical problem’s geometry and characteristics,the in situ conditions may require reinforcement to restrain instability and construction settlements.Granular columns reinforced by geosynthetic material are widely used to reduce settlements of embankments on soft clays.They also accelerate the consolidation rate by reducing the drainage path’s length and increasing the foundation soil’s bearing capacity.In this study,the performance of encased and layered granular columns in soft clay is investigated and discussed.The numerical results show the significance of geosynthetic stiffness and the column length on the embankment settlements.Furthermore,the results show that granular columns may play an important role in dissipating the excess pore water pressures and accelerating the consolidation settlements of embankments on soft clays.

Transpiration and growth responses by Eucalyptus species to progressive soil drying

The regulation of plant transpiration is a key factor affecting transpiration efficiency, growth and adaptation of Eucalyptus species to limited water availability in tropical and subtropical environments. However, few studies have related this trait to the performance of Eucalyptus seedlings and none have investigated the influence of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) on transpiration rates and growth. In this study, the transpiration and growth responses of seedlings of Eucalyptus urophylla (S.T. Blake) and Eucalyptus cloeziana (F. Muell.) to progressive soil water deficits were evaluated under semi-controlled conditions using the fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW) method. In addition, the influence of VPD on seedling transpiration, development and growth was also investigated. The FTSW threshold ranged from 0.40 to 0.99 for the transpiration rate and from 0.32 to 0.97 for the development and growth variables. Little or no changes in the FTSW threshold were detected in response to changes in atmospheric VPD. Both Eucalyptus species presented a conservation strategy under drought stress. In addition, water-conserving mechanisms during the seedling phase were related to rapid stomatal closure, reduced leaf area, and number of leaves.

Two-Dimensional Simulation of the Navier-Stokes Equations for Laminar and Turbulent Flow around a Heated Square Cylinder with Forced Convection

Few studies jointly investigate thermal and turbulent effects. In general, these subjects are treated separately. The purpose of this paper is to use the Immersed Boundary Method (IBM) coupled with the Virtual Physical Model (VPM) to investigate incompressible two-dimensional Newtonian flow around a heated square cylinder at constant temperature on its surface with forced convection and turbulence. The VPM model dynamically evaluates the force that the fluid exerts on the immersed surface and the thermal exchange between both in the Reynolds numbers (Re) window 40 ≤ Re ≤ 5×103 . For simulations of turbulence the Smagorinsky and Spalart-Allmaras models are used. The first model uses the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) methodology and is based on the local equilibrium hypothesis for small scales associated with the Boussinesq hypothesis, such that the energy injected into the spectrum of the turbulence balances the energy dissipated by convective effects. The second model uses the concept Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations (URANS), with only one transport equation for turbulent viscosity, being calibrated in pressure gradient layers. The goal of this work is to analyse the combination of the heat-transfer phenomena with the turbulence for the thermo-fluid-structure interaction in a square cylinder. For this, it was developed a C/C++ code that requires low computational costs in regards to memory and computer facilities. It is observed that, with the increase of the Reynolds number, an increase of the drag coefficient occurs, as well as reinforces the influence of the pressure distribution downstream of the cylinder, which is strongly influenced by the formation and detachment of vortices on the upper and lower sides of the square cylinder.

Thermal and photoperiodic requirements of the seedling stage of three tropical forest species

Air temperature and photoperiod play an important role in the seedling development for tropical forest species.Both variables are sensitive to climate,and so evaluating thermal and photoperiodic effects on seedling development is fundamental,especially for climate change studies.Methods to quantify thermal time and the energy required for plants to reach a development stage include air temperature and cardinal temperatures.The photoperiod will also affect physiological reactions of a plant and thus its development.Here we evaluated the six thermal time methods widely used to compute thermal requirement,and identified the influence of the photoperiod from the 2015 and2016 growing seasons and 12 sowing dates in Itajubá,Minas Gerais state,Brazil,on seedling development of three native tropical forest species Psidium guajava L.(Myrtaceae),Citharexylum myrianthum Cham.(Verbenaceae),and Bixa orellana L.(Bixaceae).The method used to quantify thermal time influenced the analytical results of seedling development;the one that considered three cardinal temperatures and compared them with the mean air temperature(Method5)performed better in computing thermal requirements.The influence of photoperiod on seedling development was inconclusive for the three species,but all three developed better in mild temperatures(between 13.3℃and 26.9℃)with a photoperiod shorter than 13 h.

Strategies for Communicating with Deaf Patients in the Public Physical Rehabilitation Unit in the Central South Region of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Deaf people face communication difficulties in health units because of the lack of preparedness of health care professionals to deal with these patients. Objective: To identify how physical rehabilitation professionals associated with a regional public unit in the south central region of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil interact with deaf patients. Method: Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 18. Results: Results showed that: 15.1% (5) of the team members did not know the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) and required help in their interaction with deaf patients;12.1% (4) never assisted deaf patients;18.2% (6) used writing and gestures;21.2% (7) resorted to lip-reading or gestures;3.1% (1) spoke slowly;6.1% (2) used mime;15.1% (5) used the Brazilian Sign Language;9.1% (3) did not respond. Conclusion: Most of these professionals are not prepared to satisfactorily interact with deaf patients. They use improvised strategies to assist the deaf clientele, demonstrating that the planning and implementation of regular courses in sign language are fundamental in order to assist these patients effectively.

Elemental Composition of PM_2.5in Araraquara City (Southeast Brazil) during Seasons with and without Sugar Cane Burning

Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter below 2.5 μm (PM2.5), present in polluted air, has been associated with a large spectrum of health impairments, mainly because of its deep deposition into the lungs. Araraquara City (Southeast Brazil) is surrounded by sugar-cane plantations, which are burned to facilitate the harvesting;this process causes environmental pollution due to the large amounts of soot that are released into the atmosphere. In this work, the elemental composition of PM2.5 was studied in two scenarios, namely in sugar-cane harvesting (HV) and in non-harvesting (NHV) seasons. The sampling strategy included one campaign in each season. PM2.5 was collected using a dichotomous sampler (10 L·min-1, 24 h) with PTFE filters. Information concerning the bulk elemental concentration was provided by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence. Enrichment factor analysis indicated that S, Cl, K, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb were highly enriched relative to their crustal ratios (to Al). Principal component analysis was used to get some insight about the sources of the elements. Principal component 1 (PC1) explained 30.5% of data variance. The elements that had high loading (>0.7) were: S, Cr, As, and Pb;these are associated with combustion of fossil fuels. In principal component 2 (PC2), Cl, Cu, Zn, and Cd showed high loadings;these elements are associated with biomass burning. The Ni concentration found is three times larger than the threshold of risk for lung cancer, as recommended by the World Health Organization.

Numerical Study of Natural Convection in Square Cavity with Inner Bodies Using Finite Element Method

A numerical study of heat transfer problem by natural convection of a fluid inside a square cavity with two inner bodies is presented. This subject is of great interest in the engineering area, mainly in applications involving development of heat exchangers and cooling or heating systems of bodies by natural convection mechanism. Two cases have been studied. The inner bodies are square in case 1 and circular in case 2. In both cases, the bodies are solid and thermally conductive, the cavity lower and upper horizontal surfaces are isothermal with high temperature Th and low temperature Tc, respectively. Both vertical surfaces are adiabatic. A FORTRAN code using Finite Element Method (FEM) is developed to simulate the problem and solve the governing equations. The distributions of stream function, ψ, dimensionless temperature, θ, and vorticity, ω, are determined. Heat transfer is evaluated by analyzing the behavior of the average Nusselt number. The Grashof number and thermal diffusivity ratio are considered in range from 2 × 104 to 105 and from 0.1 to 100, respectively. The fluid is air with Prandtl number fixed in 0.733.

A novel elemental composition based prediction model for biochar aromaticity derived from machine learning

The measurement of aromaticity in biochars is generally conducted using solid state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy,which is expensive,time-consuming,and only accessible in a small number of researchintensive universities.Mathematical modelling could be a viable alternative to predict biochar aromaticity from other much easier accessible parameters(e.g.elemental composition).In this research,Genetic Programming(GP),an advancedmachine learning method,is used to develop newpredictionmodels.In order to identify and evaluate the performance of prediction models,an experimental data set with 98 biochar samples collected from the literature was utilized.Due to the benefits of the intelligence iteration and learning of GP algorithm,a kind of underlying exponential relationship between the elemental compositions and the aromaticity of biochars is disclosed clearly.The exponential relationship is clearer and simpler than the polynomial mapping relationships implicated by Maroto-Valer,Mazumdar,and Mazumdar-Wang models.In this case,a novel exponential model is proposed for the prediction of biochar aromaticity.The proposed exponential model appears better prediction accuracy and generalization ability than existing polynomial models during the statistical parameter evaluation.