THE INFLUENCE OF CENTRE BOW LENGTH ON SLAMMING LOADS AND MOTIONS OF LARGE WAVE-PIERCING CATAMARANS

The effect of various centre bow lengths on the motions and wave-induced slamming loads on wave-piercing catamarans is investigated. A 2.5 m hydroelastic segmented model was tested with three different centre bow lengths and towed in regular waves in a towing tank. Measurements were made of the model motions, slam loads and vertical bending moments in the model demi-hulls. The model experiments were carried out for a test condition equivalent to a wave height of 2.68 m and a speed of 20 knots at full scale. Bow accelerations and vertical bending moments due to slamming showed significant changes with the change in centre bow, the longest centre bow having the highest wave-induced loads and accelerations. The increased volume of displaced water which is constrained beneath the bow archways is identified as the reason for this increase in the slamming load. In contrast it was found that the length of centre bow has a relatively small effect on the heave and pitch motions in slamming conditions.

Kształtowanie polityki integracyjnej wobec imigrantów z Białorusi oraz potencjał ich zaangażowania społeczno-politycznego na przykładzie Wrocławia

Recent political events in Belarus have caused a large wave of migration from this country. Immigrants come to Poland seeking help and escaping from the cruel repression of the autocratic regime of Alyaxandr Lukashenka. This article aims to answer what role non-governmental organisations play in the policy of integrating immigrants from Belarus in Poland. Do immigrants from Belarus contribute to the activities of non-governmental organisations in Poland? This article highlights the problem of an active response of Polish society to the Belarusian socio-political crisis. It also analyses the activity of non-governmental organisations aimed at supporting immigrants from Belarus. It is based on source research, in-depth interviews with non-governmental organisations’ activists and surveys of immigrants from Belarus. The author uses the integration policy approach to examine the activities of non-governmental organisations aimed at promoting the interests of the immigration community from Belarus and analyses its expectations. The main goals of this article are to demonstrate the phenomenon of social movement among foreigners from Belarus and to show a number of integration problems of Belarusian immigrants in Poland.

A Systematic Study on Berthing Capacity Assessment of Sanya Yazhou Fishing Port by Typhoon Prediction Model

This paper sheds light on the effect of combination modes on the evaluation of berthing capacity for Sanya Yazhou Fishing Port (SYFP) under hypothetical typhoon conditions. By statistically analysing the maximum probability of moving speeds and directions of historical typhoons passing through the fishing port, the representative typhoon path was determined with the nonparametric regression method. The designed typhoon wind fields of levels 12–17 were generated based on Holland’s parametric wind model. Then, the MIKE 21 BW model was used to obtain the high-precision wave distribution in the fishing port. The boundary conditions (significant wave height and peak period) of the MIKE 21 BW model were calculated by combining the MIKE 21 SW model with the designed typhoon wind fields. In SYFP, ships usually adopt the modes of multi-ship side-by-side and single anchor mooring during typhoons. In fair weather, approximately 158 vessels can be berthed if they are all large ones, while approximately 735 vessels can be moored if they are all small ones. However, with an increase in typhoon levels, the anchoring area for small vessels decreases. From the perspective of wave distribution in the fishing port, the number of large vessels moored was hardly affected by typhoons. This can be attributed to the breakwater, which significantly decreases the large wave height in the fishing port. Finally, a study on the framework of a method for hazard assessment of berthing capacity in the coming typhoon-driven storm waves was set up.

Hydrodynamic Performance of a Multi-Module Three-Cylinder Floating Breakwater System under the Influence of Reefs: A 3D Experimental Study

As the technical and theoretical research of floating breakwaters is becoming increasingly mature, the floating breakwaters are now being utilized, especially in offshore reefs. Therefore, it is of practical significance to study the hydrodynamic performance of a multi-module floating breakwater system under the influence of reefs. In this study, a 3D model experiment was carried out on a system consisting of eight three-cylinder floating breakwater modules under the influence of reefs. A wave attenuation mesh cage was incorporated at the bottom of the model. The floating breakwater system was slack-moored in its equilibrium position, and each module was connected by elastic connectors. The reefs were modeled on a bathymetric map of existing reefs in the East China Sea. In this experiment, the wave transmission coefficients, motion responses, and mooring forces of the floating breakwater system were measured. The results showed that the three-cylinder floating breakwater in the beam waves (β = 90°) has excellent wave attenuating performance under the influence of reefs, especially for short-period waves. However, under the influence of the reef reflection wave and the shallow water effect, the motion responses in the three main stress directions of the floating breakwater were large, and there was some surge and pitch motion. Under the influence of the aggregation and superposition of reflected waves on both sides of the reefs, the peak mooring forces in the middle position of the floating breakwater system were the largest at large wave height. The three-cylinder floating breakwater exhibited satisfactory hydrodynamic performance under the influence of reefs. It has broad application prospects in offshore reefs.

Nanoantennas Inversely Designed to Couple Free Space and a Metal–Insulator–Metal Waveguide

The metal–insulator–metal (MIM) waveguide, which can directly couple free space photons, acts as an important interface between conventional optics and subwavelength photoelectrons. The reason for the difficulty of this optical coupling is the mismatch between the large wave vector of the MIM plasmon mode and photons. With the increase in the wave vector, there is an increase in the field and Ohmic losses of the metal layer, and the strength of the MIM mode decreases accordingly. To solve those problems, this paper reports on inversely designed nanoantennas that can couple the free space and MIM waveguide and efficiently excite the MIM plasmon modes at multiple wavelengths and under oblique angles. This was achieved by implementing an inverse design procedure using a topology optimization approach. Simulation analysis shows that the coupling efficiency is enhanced 9.47-fold by the nanoantenna at the incident wavelength of 1338 nm. The topology optimization problem of the nanoantennas was analyzed by using a continuous adjoint method. The nanoantennas can be inversely designed with decreased dependence on the wavelength and oblique angle of the incident waves. A nanostructured interface on the subwavelength scale can be configured in order to control the refraction of a photonic wave, where the periodic unit of the interface is composed of two inversely designed nanoantennas that are decoupled and connected by an MIM waveguide.

Dynamics of Langmuir waves due to induced scattering on thermal electrons of solar plasma

The temporal evolution of Langmuir waves due to induced scattering on thermal electrons of solar plasma for a case of anisotropic distribution of waves is considered. The results of calculations are submitted. It is shown that the induced scattering of waves on thermal electrons does not lead to isotropization of Langmuir waves. But effective transition of energy from waves with the large wave vectors to waves with smaller wave vectors occurs similar to the isotropic case.

Individual Differences in Sequential Movement Coordination in Hip-Hop Dance: Capturing Joint Articulation in Practicing the Wave

The current study highlights individual differences in the joint articulation strategies used by novices practicing a hip-hop dance movement, the wave. Twelve young adults, all naive regarding hip-hop dance performance, practized the wave in 120 trials separated into four blocks with the order of internal or external attentional focus counterbalanced across subjects. Various kinematic analyses were analyzed to capture performance success while exploiting the observed individual differences in order to establish the reliability of the proposed performance indicators. An external focus of attention marginally facilitated the smooth transfer of a wave motion across neighboring limb segments as characterized by a constant propagation speed combined with large wave amplitudes. Systematic correlations between the success indicators were found, exemplifying the various degrees of joint articulation that novices prove capable of during an initial practicing session to try and perform a novel complex motor task.

The impact of vaccinating adolescents and children on COVID-19 disease outcomes

Introduction: Despite the high COVID-19 vaccination coverage among adults, there is concern over a peak in SARS-CoV-2 infections in the coming months. To help ensure that healthcare systems are not overwhelmed in the event of a new wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections, many countries have extended vaccination to adolescents (those aged 12-17 years) and may consider further extending to children aged 5-11 years. However, there is considerable debate about whether or not to vaccinate healthy adolescents and children against SARS-CoV-2 because, while vaccination of children and adolescents may limit transmission from these groups to other, more vulnerable groups, adolescents and children themselves have limited risk of severe disease if infected and may experience adverse events from vaccination. To quantify the benefits of extending COVID-19 vaccination beyond adults we compare daily cases, hospital admissions, and intensive care (IC) admissions for vaccination in adults only, those 12 years and above, and those 5 years and above. Methods and Findings: We developed a deterministic, age-structured susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered (SEIR) model to simulate disease outcomes (e.g., cases, hospital admissions, IC admissions) under different vaccination scenarios. The model is partitioned into 10-year age bands (0-9, 10-19, ..., 70-79, 80+) and accounts for differences in susceptibility and infectiousness by age group, seasonality in transmission rate, modes of vaccine protection (e.g., infection, transmission), and vaccine characteristics (e.g., vaccine effectiveness). Model parameters are estimated by fitting the model piecewise to daily cases from the Dutch notification database Osiris from 01 January 2020 to 22 June 2021. Forward simulations are performed from 22 June 2021 to 31 March 2022. We performed sensitivity analyses in which vaccine-induced immunity waned. We found that upon relaxation of all non-pharmaceutical control measures a large wave occurred regardless of vaccination strategy. We found overall reductions of 5.7% (4.4%, 6.9%) of cases, 2.0% (0.7%, 3.2%) of hospital admissions, and 1.7% (0.6%, 2.8%) of IC admissions when those 12 years and above were vaccinated compared to vaccinating only adults. When those 5 years and above were vaccinated we observed reductions of 8.7% (7.5%, 9.9%) of cases, 3.2% (2.0%, 4.5%) of hospital admissions, and 2.4% (1.2%, 3.5%) of IC admissions compared to vaccination in adults only. Benefits of extending vaccination were larger within the age groups included in the vaccination program extension than in other age groups. The benefits of vaccinating adolescents and children were smaller if vaccine protection against infection, hospitalization, and transmission (once infected) wanes. Discussion: Our results highlight the benefits of extending COVID-19 vaccination programs beyond adults to reduce infections and severe outcomes in adolescents and children and in the wider population. A reduction of infections in school-aged children/adolescents may have the added benefit of reducing the need for school closures during a new wave. Additional control measures may be required in future to prevent a large wave despite vaccination program extensions. While the results presented here are based on population characteristics and the COVID-19 vaccination program in The Netherlands, they may provide valuable insights for other countries who are considering COVID-19 vaccination program extensions.

Propagation and Dispersion of Lightning-Generated Whistlers Measured From the Van Allen Probes

We study the propagation and attenuation of lightning-generated whistler (LGW) waves in near-Earth space (L ≤ 3) through the statistical study of three specific quantities extracted from data recorded by NASA’s Van Allen Probes mission, from 2012 to 2019: the LGW electric and magnetic power attenuation with respect to distance from a given lightning stroke, the LGW wave normal angle in space, and the frequency-integrated LGW refractive index. We find that LGW electric field wave power decays with distance mostly quadratically in space, with a power varying between -1 and -2, while the magnetic field wave power decays mostly linearly in space, with a power varying between 0 and -1. At night only, the electric wave power decays as a quadratic law and the magnetic power as a linear law, which is consistent with electric and magnetic ground measurements. Complexity of the dependence of the various quantities is maximal at the lowest L-shells (L < 1.5) and around noon, for which LGW are the rarest in Van Allen Probes measurements. In-space near-equatorial LGW wave normal angle statistics are shown for the first time with respect to magnetic local time (MLT), L-shell (L), geographic longitude, and season. A distribution of predominantly electrostatic waves is peaked at large wave normal angle. Conversely, the distribution of electromagnetic waves with large magnetic component and small electric component is peaked at small wave normal angle. Outside these limits, we show that, as the LGW electric power increases, the LGW wave normal angle increases. But, as the LGW magnetic power increases, the LGW wave normal angle distribution becomes peaked at small wave normal angle with a secondary peak at large wave normal angle. The LGW mean wave-normal angle computed over the whole data set is 41.6° with a ∼24° standard deviation. There is a strong MLT-dependence, with the wave normal angle smaller for daytime (34.4° on average at day and 46.7° at night). There is an absence of strong seasonal and continental dependences of the wave-normal angle. The statistics of the LGW refractive index show a mean LGW refractive index is 32 with a standard deviation of ∼26. There is a strong MLT-dependence, with larger refractive index for daytime 36) than for nighttime (28). Smaller refractive index is found during Northern hemisphere summer for L-shells above 1.8, which is inconsistent with Chapman ionization theory and consistent with the so-called winter/seasonal anomaly. Local minima of the mean refractive index are observed over the three continents. Cross-correlation of these wave parameters in fixed (MLT, L) bins shows that the wave normal angle and refractive index are anti-correlated; large (small) wave normal angles correspond with small (large) refractive indexes. High power attenuation during LGW propagation from the lightning source to the spacecraft is correlated with large refractive index and anti-correlated with small wave normal angle. Correlation and anti-correlation show a smooth and continuous path from one regime (i.e. large wave normal angle, small refractive index, low attenuation) to its opposite (i.e. small wave normal angle, large refractive index, large attenuation), supporting consistency of the results.

Effects of Stratification on Shoaling Internal Tidal Bores

Idealized simulations of a shoaling internal tide on a gently sloping, linear shelf provide a tool to investigate systematically the effects of stratification strength, vertical structure, and internal wave amplitude on internal tidal bores. Simulations that prescribe a range of uniform or variable stratifications and wave amplitudes demonstrate a variety of internal tidal bores characterized by shoreward propagating horizontal density fronts with associated overturning circulations. Qualitatively, we observe three classes of solution: 1) bores, 2) bores with trailing wave trains, and 3) no bores. Very strong stratification (small wave) or very weak stratification (large wave) inhibits bore formation. Bores exist in an intermediate zone of stratification strength and wave amplitude. Within this intermediate zone, wave trains can trail bores if the stratification is relatively weak or wave amplitude large. We observe three types of bore that arise dependent on the vertical structure of stratification and wave amplitude: 1) a ‘backward’ downwelling front (near uniform stratification, small to intermediate waves), 2) a ‘forward’ upwelling front (strong pycnocline, small to large waves), and 3) a ‘double’ bore with leading up and trailing downwelling front (intermediate pycnocline, intermediate to large waves). Visualization of local flow structures explores the evolution of each of these bore-types. A frontogenetic diagnostic framework elucidates the previously undiscussed, yet, universal role of vertical straining of a stratified fluid that initiates formation of bores. Bores with wave trains exhibit strong non-hydrostatic dynamics. The results of this study suggest that mid-to-outer shelf measurements of stratification and cross-shore flow can serve as proxies to indicate the class of bore further inshore.