Attributing of global evapotranspiration trends based on the Budyko framework

Actual evapotranspiration (ET) is an essential variable in the hydrological process, linking the carbon, water, and energy cycles. Global ET has significantly changed in the warming climate. Although increasing vapour pressure deficit (VPD) due to global warming enhances atmospheric water demand, it remains unclear how the dynamics of ET are affected. In this study, using multiple datasets, we disentangled the relative contributions of precipitation, net radiation, air temperature (T1), VPD, and wind speed on affecting annual ET linear trend using an advanced separation method that considers the Budyko framework. It is found that the precipitation variability dominantly controls global ET in the dry climates, the net radiation has substantial control over ET in the tropical regions, and VPD is impacting ET trends in boreal mid-latitude climate. The critical role of VPD in controlling ET trends is particularly emphasized due to its influence in controlling the land-atmosphere interactions.

The territorial segmentation of coastal tourism areas

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the potential benefits of identifying homogeneous territorial units of the urban-tourism space at a local scale. Design/methodology/approach The territory is an essential variable for designing tourist activities adapted to the characteristics of each urban-tourism space. However, your consideration presents a series of problems, including the lack of alphanumeric, microscale, georeferenced statistical information. The territorial segmentation of the tourist accommodations supply is approached as a methodology, a technique and an instrument that can be used to apply marketing strategies in coastal tourism areas. Findings One of the most important results is that territorial segmentation is a methodology and technique that can mitigate this issue because it is well-suited to defining spatial patterns of tourist behaviour through the delimitation of territorial units that have a certain degree of homogeneity. Originality/value The idea of territorial segmentation is the ideal technique for understanding tourists and their behaviour in the territory by integrating all the variables that intervene in a trip, the different aspects of the destination and data regarding tourist behaviour, allowing them to be understood at the greatest level of territorial disaggregation and making it a good tool for public and private actors, capable of facilitating intelligent decisions in strategic territorial planning and in defining the marketing approach of tourism companies.

Mediating Effect of Customer Reliability in the Relationship of the Beauty Professionals' Communication Styles and the Intention to Revisit

This study aims to research the mediating effect of customer reliability in the relationship of the beauty professionals' communication styles and the intention to revisit to increase the reliability and revisitation of the customers who use beauty services. A self-administered survey with 23 questions related to general characteristics, communication styles, customer reliability, and intention to revisit was given to 413 customers. Through SPSS 20.0, frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, regression analysis, and mediation regression analysis were performed. The result showed that communication style has 3 factors: cooperation type, control type, and professional type and that the customer reliability and the intention to revisit drew single factors, respectively. And all the effects of the beauty professionals' communication style on the customer reliability, the customer reliability on the intention to revisit, and the communication style on the intention to revisit appeared to have a positive effect. Also, the customer reliability showed the mediating effect in the relationship between cooperation type and the intention to revisit. And in the relationship of control type, professional type, and intention to revisit, by the full mediation effect, the customer reliability appeared to work as an essential variable in the relationship of communication style and intention to revisit. Based on this result, the author expects that this study can help expand the training for the communication style that fits the beauty service environment and create profits with the competitiveness reinforcement by the strategy development of proper service training and marketing for beauty professionals.

INTERAKSI DAN IMPLIKASINYA TERHADAP OPTIMALISASI CAPAIAN KOMPETENSI PEMBELAJARAN DARING

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced learning activities to be carried out online. This raises concerns about the quality of the competencies achieved. Many previous studies on online learning have been done. However, the focus of attention on the strategic role and the contribution of interaction to the learning outcomes is still very limited. This article aims to discuss two things. First, the strategic role of learning interactions in online learning, including the interaction of educators and students, the interaction of students with students, and interactions of students with digital learning content. Second, the theoretical implication of the learning interaction variable on efforts to optimize the quality of competency attainment in online learning. Based on the results of the literature review, it shows that learning interaction is a very essential variable in determining student competency achievement through active engagement in constructing knowledge and skills, as well as the meaning of online learning perceived by students. AbstrakPandemi COVID-19 menyebabkan aktivitas pembelajaran terpaksa harus dilaksanakan secara daring. Itu menyebabkan timbulnya kekhawatiran terhadap kualitas kompetensi yang dicapai. Penelitian-penelitian terdahulu pada pembelajaran daring sudah cukup banyak dilakukan. Meskipun demikian, fokus perhatian terhadap peran strategis dan kontribusi interaksi terhadap capaian hasil pembelajaran masih sangat terbatas. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk mendiskusikan dua hal. Pertama, peran strategis interaksi pembelajaran dalam pembelajaran daring, meliputi interaksi pendidik dan peserta didik, interaksi peserta didik dengan peserta didik dan interaksi peserta didik dengan konten pembelajaran. Kedua, implikasi teoritis variabel interaksi pembelajaran terhadap usaha optimalisasi kualitas capaian kompetensi pada pembelajaran daring. Berdasarkan hasil kajian pustaka menunjukkan bahwa interaksi pembelajaran merupakan variabel yang sangat esensial dalam menentukan capaian kompetensi pembelajaran melalui partisipasi aktif peserta didik dalam mengkonstruksi pengetahuan dan keterampilan, serta kebermaknaaan dan capaian pembelajaran daring.

Escalas do tempo

Viral epidemics are processes in which temporality obviously constitutes an essential variable. But different time scales must be distinguished. To see the current pandemic as a singular event is but an illusion due to the “mesoscopic” timescale we are embracing. There is a microscopic scale — that of physiological processes —, a mesoscopic scale, which only allows to see the closest evidence, and a macroscopic scale, that of the ecological determinisms which explain the emergence of the disease in the history of the relationships between species. The article focuses on the mesoscopic level and highlights some semiotic specificities of today’s experience : a temporal suspension, the threat of pure, dramatic and final discontinuity, the behavior of a virus that appears to have “intentionality”, a strong intensity coupled with a long duration, a time of exception, drawn to a final end, and a victory which will only be achieved with great effort.

Indirect estimate of in loco moisture via normative mineralogy calculation with correction of seasonal effect on itabirite (banded iron formation) of the Pico complex, Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Moisture is a critical variable in iron-ore processing, handling and transportation. During beneficiation, excessive moisture may lead to screen and chute clogging. In transportation, moisture values above transportable moisture limit may cause cargo instabilities, especially in regard to vessels. Moisture is a non-stationary variable that depends on spatial and time distributions. Therefore, classical estimate methods such as ordinary kriging are not appropriate to calculate moisture values. Here, we present an extension of the Normative Mineralogy Calculation to indirectly estimate moisture, considering seasonal influence. This study in based on three iron-ore mines, Galinheiro, Pico and Sapecado. They are located in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a world-class iron-ore district. The method proposed herein provides useful information that can be applied elsewhere. Our results indicate that compact ores show low moisture values with little seasonal influence, while soft ores and canga (iron-rich duricrust) are strongly influenced seasonally due to higher porosity and greater capacity of retaining water in the crystal structure of minerals, such as goethite. Moisture variations may exceed 2% along the year. Such variations are enough to preclude the beneficiation of certain iron ores during the rainy season. For this reason, moisture has been regarded as an essential variable in short-term mining. Article Highlights Moisture is a critical variable in iron-ore processing, handling and transportation. Moisture depends on spatial and time distributions; hence classical methods are not appropriate to quantitatively estimate it. This study proposes an indirectly estimate of moisture considering seasonal influence. Compact iron ores are little influenced seasonally, while soft iron ores and canga (duricrust) are strongly affected by the rainy season due to their higher porosity and greater capacity of retaining water. The seasonal effect on moisture is an essential variable that must be consider to better effectiveness of iron-ore mining sequencing and beneficiation.

User experience and acceptance of a device assisting persons with dementia in daily life: a multicenter field study

Background Assistive technologies have the potential to facilitate everyday life of people with dementia and their families. Close collaboration with affected people and interdisciplinary research are essential to understand and address the needs of prospective users. In this study, we present the results of the evaluation of such an assistive system prototype. Aims Challenges from the patient and caregiver side, technical and design problems and acceptance and usability with regard to our special target group were evaluated. Methods MEMENTO, a system of two e-ink tablets and a smartwatch, was tested in the domestic environment of dementia patients. Thirty participants from Italy, Spain and Austria took part in a 3-month field trial and compared the MEMENTO system to traditional strategies in everyday life. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and frequency of use of the system was monitored. Results There were no significant changes in quantitative measurements, such as activities of daily living and caregiver burden over the duration of the 3-month field trial. More frequent usage was significantly correlated with positive attitude towards technology (r = 0.723, p < 0.05), but not with age. The design of the system was positively emphasized, reducing fear of the technology on the one hand and stigmatization on the other. Conclusion We show that a positive attitude towards technology is the essential variable for successful implementation of such systems, regardless of age. Participants showed great interest in digital solutions and agreed that technological systems will help in maintaining independency of persons with cognitive dysfunction in the future.

Diagnosis of Subclinical Keratoconus Based on Machine Learning Techniques

(1) Background: Keratoconus is a non-inflammatory corneal disease characterized by gradual thinning of the stroma, resulting in irreversible visual quality and quantity decline. Early detection of keratoconus and subsequent prevention of possible risks are crucial factors in its progression. Random forest is a machine learning technique for classification based on the construction of thousands of decision trees. The aim of this study was to use the random forest technique in the classification and prediction of subclinical keratoconus, considering the metrics proposed by Pentacam and Corvis. (2) Methods: The design was a retrospective cross-sectional study. A total of 81 eyes of 81 patients were enrolled: sixty-one eyes with healthy corneas and twenty patients with subclinical keratoconus (SCKC): This initial stage includes patients with the following conditions: (1) minor topographic signs of keratoconus and suspicious topographic findings (mild asymmetric bow tie, with or without deviation; (2) average K (mean corneal curvature) <46, 5 D; (3) minimum corneal thickness (ECM) > 490 μm; (4) no slit lamp found; and (5) contralateral clinical keratoconus of the eye. Pentacam topographic and Corvis biomechanical variables were collected. Decision tree and random forest were used as machine learning techniques for classifications. Random forest performed a ranking of the most critical variables in classification. (3) Results: The essential variable was SP A1 (stiffness parameter A1), followed by A2 time, posterior coma 0º, A2 velocity and peak distance. The model efficiently predicted all patients with subclinical keratoconus (Sp = 93%) and was also a good model for classifying healthy cases (Sen = 86%). The overall accuracy rate of the model was 89%. (4) Conclusions: The random forest model was a good model for classifying subclinical keratoconus. The SP A1 variable was the most critical determinant in classifying and identifying subclinical keratoconus, followed by A2 time.

Postural Habits and Joint and Muscle Pain of Iranian School-Aged Students Undergoing Virtual Classes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross Sectional Study

Background The current lifestyle, with its growing use of contemporary technologies, has resulted in changes in people's behavior, causing them to become increasingly sedentary and to develop unhealthy body habits. An essential variable determining an individual's physical and emotional well-being is posture. The purpose of this study was to investigate the postural habits and any related joint and muscle pain among school-aged students in Iran during the COVID-19 quarantine. Methods The present study used a cross-sectional methodology. An online survey was utilized to measure participants' postural habits and joint and muscle pain during the COVID-19 quarantine in Iran. Participants self-reported their postural habits and any joint and muscle pain during the COVID-19 epidemic. A chi-square test was used to determine the differences in the distribution of the participant responses (P < 0.05). Results The survey was completed by 43,660 school-aged students (15,532 boys and 28,128 girls; ages 8–17 years). The results indicated that 57% of the students reported that they did not maintain correct posture while taking virtual classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed the following postural details, leaning forward (28%), leaning backward (11%) or curving (18%) during virtual classes. The majority of respondents (54%) reported feeling some joint or muscle pain while taking virtual classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The greatest pain was reported in the neck (28%), upper back (14%) and lower back (13%). Conclusion These findings can help inform efforts to protect and promote children's health and posture during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the reopening of schools following the quarantine period, the findings from this study indicate that screening students for health risks such as body postural status will be necessary.

Enhanced Estimation of Root Zone Soil Moisture at 1 km Resolution Using SMAR Model and MODIS-Based Downscaled AMSR2 Soil Moisture Data

Root zone soil moisture (RZSM) is an essential variable for weather and hydrological prediction models. Satellite-based microwave observations have been frequently utilized for the estimation of surface soil moisture (SSM) at various spatio-temporal resolutions. Moreover, previous studies have shown that satellite-based SSM products, coupled with the soil moisture analytical relationship (SMAR) can estimate RZSM variations. However, satellite-based SSM products are of low-resolution, rendering the application of the above-mentioned approach for local and pointwise applications problematic. This study initially attempted to estimate SSM at a finer resolution (1 km) using a downscaling technique based on a linear equation between AMSR2 SM data (25 km) with three MODIS parameters (NDVI, LST, and Albedo); then used the downscaled SSM in the SMAR model to monitor the RZSM for Rafsanjan Plain (RP), Iran. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated by measuring the soil moisture profile at ten stations in RP. The results of this study revealed that the downscaled AMSR2 SM data had a higher accuracy in relation to the ground-based SSM data in terms of MAE (↓0.021), RMSE (↓0.02), and R (↑0.199) metrics. Moreover, the SMAR model was run using three different SSM input data with different spatial resolution: (a) ground-based SSM, (b) conventional AMSR2, and (c) downscaled AMSR2 products. The results showed that while the SMAR model itself was capable of estimating RZSM from the variation of ground-based SSM data, its performance increased when using downscaled SSM data suggesting the potential benefits of proposed method in different hydrological applications.