Geomatic-Based Flood Loss Assessment and Its Application in an Eastern City of China

Flash-flood disasters pose a serious threat to lives and property. To meet the increasing demand for refined and rapid assessment on flood loss, this study exploits geomatic technology to integrate multi-source heterogeneous data and put forward the comprehensive risk index (CRI) calculation with the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE). Based on mathematical correlations between CRIs and actual losses of flood disasters in Weifang City, the direct economic loss rate (DELR) model and the agricultural economic loss rate (AELR) model were developed. The case study shows that the CRI system can accurately reflect the risk level of a flash-flood disaster. Both models are capable of simulating disaster impacts. The results are generally consistent with actual impacts. The quantified economic losses generated from simulation are close to actual losses. The spatial resolution is up to 100 × 100 m. This study provides a loss assessment method with high temporal and spatial resolution, which can quickly assess the loss of rainstorm and flood disasters. The method proposed in this paper, coupled with a case study, provides a reliable reference to loss assessment on flash floods caused disasters and will be helpful to the existing literature.

A comparative prospective observational study on the use of ulipristal acetate versus mifepristone in reduction of the size of uterine leiomyoma

Background: Fibroid or uterine leiomyoma is the most common benign tumor of the uterus in the reproductive age group and found in one out of every four women. They are symptomatic in 50% of women, with the peak incidence occurring among women in their 30s or 40s. Fibroid can cause a variety of symptoms which include menstrual disturbances commonly menorrhagia and dysmenorrhea. It is a common indication of hysterectomy in Indians. An effective medical treatment option may reduce hysterectomy-associated morbidity and mortality. This study is undertaken to evaluate the efficacy and safety of medical management of myoma and contribution in the reduction of myoma size comparing the two drugs ulipristal and mifepristone. Aims and Objectives: The study was conducted to compare reduction of menorrhagia (By pictorial blood loss assessment chart score), reduction of fibroid size (using transvaginal ultrasonography), and improvement of hemoglobin (Hb) level. We are also evaluating safety or side effects using these drugs. Materials and Methods: The study includes 210 patients who are divided into two groups. Group A includes 105 patients who are treated with tablet Ulipristal Acetate 5 mg daily for 3 months and Group B includes 105 patients who are treated with tablet mifepristone 25 mg daily for 3 months. Results: Ulipristal and mifepristone both are effective in reduction of menorrhagia and improvement of Hb levels, but Ulipristal is more effective in reduction of size of uterine myoma than mifepristone after 3 months of treatment. Conclusion: Multicentric study over a larger population is required to reach a valid conclusion.

Critical stages for post-harvest losses and nutrition outcomes in the value chains of bush beans and nightshade in Uganda

The reduction of post-harvest losses (PHLs) has been identified as a key pathway to food and nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa. However, despite policy prioritisation, knowledge about the severity of PHLs remains scant, especially when it comes to nutrient-dense crops such as African nightshade and bush beans. Therefore, this paper identifies loss hotspots, causes and effects throughout the value chains of nightshade and bush beans in eastern Uganda. Primary data collected following the Informal Food Loss Assessment Method, combined with small-scale load tracking and secondary data, allows for an analysis of physical, economic, quality, and nutritional losses throughout the value chains of both crops. Results show that in the bush bean value chain, severe physical and quality losses occur during post-harvest handling by farmers, leading to high economic losses at this stage of the chain. Nutritional losses are not expected to be significant in the bush bean value chain. By contrast, due to the shortness of the nightshade value chain, where produce is moved from harvest to consumption within one or two days, physical losses in most parts of the chain are relatively minor. Only at consumption stage, high physical losses occur. This is also the stage where economic losses and potential nutritional losses are most pronounced. The results of this study offer a deeper understanding of the value chain dynamics of bush beans and nightshade, including underlying gender relations, and identify concrete loss hotspots, upon which further research and practical interventions can build.

Application Research of BP Neural Network Algorithm in Power Line Loss Calculation

In recent years, it is still a difficult problem to calculate the line loss of distribution system. The main reason is that China’s power system data is not perfect, the components are huge, the management function does not exist, the network structure is directly connected. Therefore, reducing the loss rate of power system has become an urgent problem for energy companies to solve. Developing effective methods for line loss reduction evidence and line loss assessment requires careful calculation and analysis of line loss, which ultimately contributes to and guides line loss management.

Agriculture and forestry impact assessment for tephra fall hazard: fragility function development and New Zealand scenario application

Developing approaches to assess the impact of tephra fall to agricultural and forestry systems is essential for informing effective disaster risk management strategies. Fragility functions are commonly used as the vulnerability model within a loss assessment framework and represent the relationship between a given hazard intensity measure (e.g., tephra thickness) and the probability of impacts occurring. Impacts are represented here using an impact state (IS), which categorises qualitative and quantitative statements into a numeric scale. This study presents IS schemes for pastoral, horticultural, and forestry systems, and a suite of fragility functions estimating the probability of each IS occurring for 13 sub-sectors. Temporal vulnerability is accounted for by a ‘seasonality coefficient,’ and a ‘chemical toxicity coefficient’ is included to incorporate the increased vulnerability of pastoral farming systems when tephra is high in fluoride. The fragility functions are then used to demonstrate a deterministic impact assessment with current New Zealand exposure.

Analytical Iron Loss Evaluation in the Stator Yoke of Slotless Surface-Mounted PM Machines

<div>One of the attractive benefits of slotless machines is low losses at high speeds, which could be emphasized by a careful stator core loss assessment, potentially available already at the pre-design stage. Unfortunately, mainstream iron loss estimation methods are typically implemented in the finite element analysis (FEA) environment with a constant-coefficients dummy model, leading to weak extrapolations with huge errors. In this paper, an analytical method for iron loss prediction in the stator core of slotless PM machines is derived. It is based on the extension of the 2-D field solution over the entire machine geometry. Then, the analytical solution is combined with variable- or constant-coefficient loss models (i.e., VARCO or CCM), which can be efficiently computed by vectorized post-processing. VARCO loss models are shown to be preferred at a general level.Moreover, the paper proposes a lookup-table-based (LUT) solution as an alternative approach. The main contribution lies in the numerical link between the analytical field solution and the iron loss estimate, with the aid of a code implementation of the proposed methodology. First, the models are compared against a sufficiently dense dataset available from laminations manufacturer for validation purposes. Then, all the methods are compared for the slotless machine case. Finally, the models are applied to a real case study and validated experimentally.</div>