Спектральные характеристики и перенос энергии Ce-=SUP=-3+-=/SUP=-->Tb-=SUP=-3+-=/SUP=-->Eu-=SUP=-3+-=/SUP=- в соединении LuBO-=SUB=-3-=/SUB=-(Ce, Tb, Eu)

The structure, IR, luminescence, and luminescence excitation spectra of Ce3+, Tb3+, and Eu3+ ions in Lu1−2xCexEuхBO3 and Lu0.91−2xCexTb0.09EuхBO3 solid solutions were studied. The minimum "threshold" distance between Ce3+ and Eu3+ ions was estimated, at which there is no charge transfer between these ions, leading to the quenching of Ce3+ and Eu3+ luminescence. It is shown that in Lu0.91−2xCexTb0.09EuхBO3 compounds, the range of Ce and Eu concentrations of 0.2 – 0.25 at. % is optimal for obtaining the maximum luminous intensity of this compound.

Tropical Cyclone and Easterly Wave Relationship in Regional Precipitation over the Tropical and Subtropical North America

<p>Tropical cyclones (TCs) and easterly waves (EWs) produce significant seasonal rainfall over the tropical and subtropical North America. When TC activity over the tropical eastern Pacific (TEP) or the Intra Americas Seas (IAS) is below-normal (above-normal), regional precipitation may be below (above-normal). However, it is not only the number of TCs what may change seasonal precipitation, but the trajectory of the systems. TCs induce intense precipitation over continental regions if they are close enough to shorelines, for instance, if the TC center is located less than 500 km-distant from the coast. However, if TCs are more remote than this threshold distance, the chances of rain over continental regions decrease, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. In addition, a distant TC may induce subsidence or produce moisture divergence that inhibits, at least for a few days, convective activity farther away than the threshold distance.</p><p>EWs can produce up to 50% of seasonal rainfall and contribute substantially to interannual regional rainfall variability. An observational analysis shows that the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects EW frequency and therefore, their contribution to seasonal rainfall. In recent years, TC activity over the Main Development Region (MDR) of the tropical North Atlantic has a negative impact on regional seasonal precipitation over northern South America. High TC activity over MDR corresponds to below-normal precipitation because it reduces the EW activity reaching northern South America through the recurving of TC tracks. Recurving TC tracks redirect moisture away from the tropical belt and into the mid-latitudes. However, this relationship only holds under neutral ENSO conditions and the positive phase of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. A 10-member regional model multi-physics ensemble simulation for the period 1990–2000 was analyzed to show the relationships are robust to different representations of physical processes. This new understanding of seasonal rainfall over the tropical Americas may support improved regional seasonal and climate outlooks.</p>

Laboratory test and numerical simulation of composite geomembrane leakage in plain reservoir

Plain reservoir plays an important role in alleviating water shortage in plain areas which are generally crowded with large populations. As an effective and cheap anti-seepage measure, geomembrane is widely applied in plain reservoirs. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the seepage discharge caused by composite geomembrane leakage. The laboratory test and numerical calculation are carried out in this paper to analyze the influence of three factors (i.e., water head, leakage size, and leakage location) on seepage discharge. It is found from the results of the orthogonal and single-factor analysis that the impact order of the three factors on the seepage discharge of plain reservoir is: distance from dam toe > water head > leakage size. Moreover, the seepage discharge increases as the water head, leakage size, and leakage quantity increase, in a linear relation. The opposite trend can be sawed in the seepage discharge when the distance from dam toe rises. Furthermore, a threshold distance is innovatively presented based on the results of numerical analysis. The ranking of three factors has enlightening significance for future scholars to track and study key issues of the leakage of composite geomembrane. The threshold distance presented in this paper is beneficial for engineers to manage and maintain the reservoir. Generally, the findings of this study can be beneficial to deepen the understanding of the influence of composite geomembrane leakage on the plain reservoirs.

A game of patience between predator and prey: waiting for opponent’s action determines successful capture or escape

When predator and prey animals face each other, preemptive actions by both sides are considered to mediate successful capture or escape. However, in spite of the general presumption, some animals, such as predatory snakes and their frog prey, occasionally remain motionless or move slowly for a while before striking or escaping, respectively. To clarify the possible advantages of this behaviour, we examined interactions between Japanese Four-lined Ratsnakes (Elaphe quadrivirgata (H. Boie, 1826)) and Black-spotted Pond Frogs (Pelophylax nigromaculatus (Hallowell, 1861)), focusing especially on kinematic features of strike behaviour of snakes and flight behaviour of frogs in close quarters. Staged encounter experiments and field observations revealed that counteractions against an opponent’s preemptive actions are effective for both snakes and frogs until a certain distance because they are hardly able to change their trajectories once they initiate strike or escape behaviours. Snakes and frogs also appropriately switched their behaviour from waiting for the opponent’s action to taking preemptive action at this threshold distance. These results suggested the occurrence of a game of patience between snakes and frogs in which they wait for the opponent’s action to achieve effective countermeasures. Our study provides new insights for predicting optimal decision-making by predators and prey and will contribute to a better understanding of their strategies.

The Issue of a Transport Mode Choice from the Perspective of Enterprise Logistics

The paper includes the research outputs in the area of examining the total costs of delivering products to the customer for a particular transport mode choice. The methodology of choice procedure is presented based on the calculation of threshold distance for different variants of shipments in road and rail transport based on delivery costs. The paper also assesses the possibility of compiling a multi-criteria function for enterprise logistics, that beside the costs takes into account also other aspects as rail transport availability, time for loading and unloading, shipping time or environmental impacts.

Unit Disk Graph-Based Node Similarity Index for Complex Network Analysis

We seek to quantify the extent of similarity among nodes in a complex network with respect to two or more node-level metrics (like centrality metrics). In this pursuit, we propose the following unit disk graph-based approach: we first normalize the values for the node-level metrics (using the sum of the squares approach) and construct a unit disk graph of the network in a coordinate system based on the normalized values of the node-level metrics. There exists an edge between two vertices in the unit disk graph if the Euclidean distance between the two vertices in the normalized coordinate system is within a threshold value (ranging from 0 tok, where k is the number of node-level metrics considered). We run a binary search algorithm to determine the minimum value for the threshold distance that would yield a connected unit disk graph of the vertices. We refer to “1 − (minimum threshold distance/k)” as the node similarity index (NSI; ranging from 0 to 1) for the complex network with respect to the k node-level metrics considered. We evaluate the NSI values for a suite of 60 real-world networks with respect to both neighborhood-based centrality metrics (degree centrality and eigenvector centrality) and shortest path-based centrality metrics (betweenness centrality and closeness centrality).

Analysis of some key aspects of soil/foundation interaction-Finite elements modelling

This paper is aimed to contribute to the analysis of three important aspects of soil-foundation interaction, which are not clearly investigated, by means of a detailed parametric study based on a finite elements modelling. The first aspect focuses on the effect of the bedrock proximity on the load-settlement behaviour of a continuous or circular shallow foundation. It was found there exists a threshold distance between the foundation base and the top of the bedrock layer beyond which the foundation behaves as in an infinitely deep medium. The second one deals with the behaviour of shallow foundation on a bi-layered soil where the effect of the underlying layer on the bearing capacity as well as on the settlements depends on the distance between the foundation base and the top of the underlying layer, and beyond a threshold value this effect vanishes. The third aspect studied was the interference between two strip footings installed on saturated clay. It was shown within a threshold distance between these foundations, an important modification of the foundation behaviour may occur. Finally, the numerical results were fitted and interpreted which allowed suggesting simple practical formulae for shallow foundations design.