How Academics and the Public Experienced Immersive Virtual Reality for Geo-Education

Immersive virtual reality can potentially open up interesting geological sites to students, academics and others who may not have had the opportunity to visit such sites previously. We study how users perceive the usefulness of an immersive virtual reality approach applied to Earth Sciences teaching and communication. During nine immersive virtual reality-based events held in 2018 and 2019 in various locations (Vienna in Austria, Milan and Catania in Italy, Santorini in Greece), a large number of visitors had the opportunity to navigate, in immersive mode, across geological landscapes reconstructed by cutting-edge, unmanned aerial system-based photogrammetry techniques. The reconstructed virtual geological environments are specifically chosen virtual geosites, from Santorini (Greece), the North Volcanic Zone (Iceland), and Mt. Etna (Italy). Following the user experiences, we collected 459 questionnaires, with a large spread in participant age and cultural background. We find that the majority of respondents would be willing to repeat the immersive virtual reality experience, and importantly, most of the students and Earth Science academics who took part in the navigation confirmed the usefulness of this approach for geo-education purposes.

Carnegie Supernova Project: The First Homogeneous Sample of Super-Chandrasekhar-mass/2003fg-like Type Ia Supernovae

We present a multiwavelength photometric and spectroscopic analysis of 13 super-Chandrasekhar-mass/2003fg-like Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). Nine of these objects were observed by the Carnegie Supernova Project. The 2003fg-like SNe have slowly declining light curves (Δm 15(B) < 1.3 mag), and peak absolute B-band magnitudes of −19 < M B < −21 mag. Many of the 2003fg-like SNe are located in the same part of the luminosity–width relation as normal SNe Ia. In the optical B and V bands, the 2003fg-like SNe look like normal SNe Ia, but at redder wavelengths they diverge. Unlike other luminous SNe Ia, the 2003fg-like SNe generally have only one i-band maximum, which peaks after the epoch of the B-band maximum, while their near-IR (NIR) light-curve rise times can be ≳40 days longer than those of normal SNe Ia. They are also at least 1 mag brighter in the NIR bands than normal SNe Ia, peaking above M H = −19 mag, and generally have negative Hubble residuals, which may be the cause of some systematics in dark-energy experiments. Spectroscopically, the 2003fg-like SNe exhibit peculiarities such as unburnt carbon well past maximum light, a large spread (8000–12,000 km s−1) in Si ii λ6355 velocities at maximum light with no rapid early velocity decline, and no clear H-band break at +10 days. We find that SNe with a larger pseudo-equivalent width of C ii at maximum light have lower Si ii λ6355 velocities and more slowly declining light curves. There are also multiple factors that contribute to the peak luminosity of 2003fg-like SNe. The explosion of a C–O degenerate core inside a carbon-rich envelope is consistent with these observations. Such a configuration may come from the core-degenerate scenario.

Association of railway industry occupations with hypertension

The review considers the issues of the association of railway industry occupations with the hypertension (HTN) risk. There is a number of reviews have been published earlier, where the high prevalence of HTN in railway workers was mentioned. Scientific literature was studied using the following keywords: “railway” and “hypertension” both in Russian and in English. A large spread in HTN prevalence among footplate staff was revealed according to different sources — from 7 to 60%. When recalculating the literature data on HTN prevalence among footplate staff in the CIS unites, it turned out to be no higher than that obtained for working-age men according to the Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Diseases and their Risk Factors in Regions of Russian Federation (ESSE-RF). A number of studies indicate that HTN is developing faster for locomotive drivers than for people not working in the railway industry. In our opinion, scientific work on the high frequency of HTN among railway workers can only be considered preliminary. Probably, the development of HTN could be influenced not only by occupational, but also by the major risk factors, such as metabolic ones, obesity, etc.

Overactivated transport in the localized phase of the superconductor-insulator transition

Beyond a critical disorder, two-dimensional (2D) superconductors become insulating. In this Superconductor-Insulator Transition (SIT), the nature of the insulator is still controversial. Here, we present an extensive experimental study on insulating NbxSi1−x close to the SIT, as well as corresponding numerical simulations of the electrical conductivity. At low temperatures, we show that electronic transport is activated and dominated by charging energies. The sample thickness variation results in a large spread of activation temperatures, fine-tuned via disorder. We show numerically and experimentally that this originates from the localization length varying exponentially with thickness. At the lowest temperatures, there is an increase in activation energy related to the temperature at which this overactivated regime is observed. This relation, observed in many 2D systems shows that conduction is dominated by single charges that have to overcome the gap when entering superconducting grains.

The Brewer–Dobson circulation in CMIP6

The Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC) is a key feature of the stratosphere that models need to accurately represent in order to simulate surface climate variability and change adequately. For the first time, the Climate Model Intercomparison Project includes in its phase 6 (CMIP6) a set of diagnostics that allow for careful evaluation of the BDC. Here, the BDC is evaluated against observations and reanalyses using historical simulations. CMIP6 results confirm the well-known inconsistency in the sign of BDC trends between observations and models in the middle and upper stratosphere. Nevertheless, the large uncertainty in the observational trend estimates opens the door to compatibility. In particular, when accounting for the limited sampling of the observations, model and observational trend error bars overlap in 40 % of the simulations with available output. The increasing CO2 simulations feature an acceleration of the BDC but reveal a large spread in the middle-to-upper stratospheric trends, possibly related to the parameterized gravity wave forcing. The very close connection between the shallow branch of the residual circulation and surface temperature is highlighted, which is absent in the deep branch. The trends in mean age of air are shown to be more robust throughout the stratosphere than those in the residual circulation.

A statistical DEM approach for modelling heterogeneous brittle materials

By utilizing numerical models and simulation, insights about the fracture process of brittle heterogeneous materials can be gained without the need for expensive, difficult, or even impossible, experiments. Brittle and heterogeneous materials like rocks usually exhibit a large spread of experimental data and there is a need for a stochastic model that can mimic this behaviour. In this work, a new numerical approach, based on the Bonded Discrete Element Method, for modelling of heterogeneous brittle materials is proposed and evaluated. The material properties are introduced into the model via two main inputs. Firstly, the grains are constructed as ellipsoidal subsets of spherical discrete elements. The sizes and shapes of these ellipsoidal subsets are randomized, which introduces a grain shape heterogeneity Secondly, the micromechanical parameters of the constituent particles of the grains are given by the Weibull distribution. The model was applied to the Brazilian Disc Test, where the crack initiation, propagation, coalescence and branching could be investigated for different sets of grain cement strengths and sample heterogeneities. The crack initiation and propagation was found to be highly dependent on the level of heterogeneity and cement strength. Specifically, the amount of cracks initiating from the loading contact was found to be more prevalent for cases with higher cement strength and lower heterogeneity, while a more severe zigzag shaped crack pattern was found for the cases with lower cement strength and higher heterogeneity. Generally, the proposed model was found to be able to capture typical phenomena associated with brittle heterogeneous materials, e.g. the unpredictability of the strength in tension and crack properties.

Parasite fauna diversity in Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) from natural and anthropized ecosystems of the Republic of Moldova

The study of the diversity of the parasite fauna in the investigated foxes showed a high level of infestation (100%). The taxonomy of parasitofauna in foxes includes 12 parasitic invasions (Isospora canis – 14,3%, Alaria alata – 51,0%, Mesocestoides lineatus – 21,7%, Taeniidae spp – 27,0%, Syphacia obvelata – 17,0%, Strongyloides stercoralis – 13,3%, Toxocara canis – 59,0%, Toxascaris leonina – 65,5%, Ancylostoma caninum – 8,7%, Trichuris vulpis – 26,1%, Trichuris muris – 4,4%, Capilaria hepatica – 35,0%), which belong to 5 classes, 10 families, 11 genera and about 12 species. The share of species from the Sporozoa class is 8.3%, from the Trematoda class - 8.3%, from the Cestoda class - 16.7%, from the Secernentea class - 41.7% and from the Adenophorea class - 25.0%. Analyzing the parasitic species on epidemiological criterion, it was found that 10 species (83.3%) with large spread have zoonotic impact (A. alata, M. lineatus, Taenia spp., S. obvelata, S. ratti, T. canis, T. leonina, A. caninum, C. hepatica, T. vulpis) with a major risk to public health, and the identified invasions (100%) can parasitize domestic animals, as well as game fauna.

Large Future Increase in Exposure Risks of Extreme Heat Within Southern China Under Warming Scenario

With the continued global warming, quantifying the risks of human and social-economic exposure to extremely high temperatures is very essential. The simulated extreme high-temperature days (EHTDs) with a maximum temperature higher than 35°C (38°C, 40°C) in Southern China during 1980–1999 and 2080–2099 are analyzed using the NEX-GDDP dataset. By comparing the climatology of the two scenario periods, the multi-model ensemble mean patterns show that EHTDs will greatly increase at the end of the 21st century, and its center at 35°C is projected to shift to Guangxi from Jiangxi. Model diversities are fairly small, and the spread increases with T-level rises. EOF analysis shows that the 100-years warming will impact the southern part greater than the northern part. Trend patterns exhibit comparable results to models, but with a relatively large spread. The population and economy exposure to extremely high temperatures are calculated, showing that they both will experience a large increase in future projected decades. In historical decades, the growth of population and Gross Domestic Product have dominated the increasing exposure risks, but these effects weaken with the T-level increases. In future decades, climate change plays a leading role in affecting the exposure, and its effect strengthens with the T-level increases. For historical to future changes, the dominant contributor to population exposure changes is the climate factor (74%), while substantially 90% contribution to economy exposure changes is dominated by the combined effects of climate and economy growth.

Rooting of Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi Cuttings as a Function of the Preparation Method and Indolebutyric Acid Concentrations

Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi, popularly known in Brazil as pink pepper or aroeira, has become a new source of agricultural exploitation for some farmers, notably located in the north of the state of Espírito Santo, the largest producing region in the world. Once it was a species that has been historically exploited in an extractive manner, where only what nature offers is explored, the need for the generation of scientific knowledge to understand its genetic potential in all agronomic areas is evident, starting with the large spread in scale of this species. Therefore, the objective of the work was to study the effects of indolebutyric acid (IBA) on the physiology and quality of seedlings produced by cuttings of the species Schinus terebentifolia Raddi under different concentrations of this hormone and different ways of application. The experiment design was a factorial in randomized blocks, in the 2x7 arrangement, the first being composed of two forms of preparation of the hormone (dilution in acetone or in water) and the second composed by 7 concentrations of IBA (0 mg/L; 625 mg/L; 1250 mg/L; 2500 mg/L; 3000 mg/L; 3750 mg/L and 5000 mg/L) with 5 blocks and 5 plants in each treatment. The addition of IBA favored the development and physiological aspects of the seedlings, produced from the hormone prepared with both, water and acetone. The quality of seedlings induced with IBA diluted in water was compromised with the addition of the hormone, whereas in seedlings treated with IBA diluted in acetone, the estimated dose of 1750 mg/L of IBA, promoted the better quality index (IQD) of the seedlings.

North Atlantic Oscillation in winter is largely insensitive to autumn Barents-Kara sea ice variability

Arctic sea ice extent in autumn is significantly correlated with the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in the satellite era. However, questions about the robustness and reproducibility of the relationship persist. Here, we show that climate models are able to simulate periods of strong ice-NAO correlation, albeit rarely. Furthermore, we show that the winter circulation signals during these periods are consistent with observations and not driven by sea ice. We do so by interrogating a multimodel ensemble for the specific time scale of interest, thereby illuminating the dynamics that produce large spread in the ice-NAO relationship. Our results support the importance of internal variability over sea ice but go further in showing that the mechanism behind strong ice-NAO correlations, when they occur, is similar in longer observational records and models. Rather than sea ice, circulation anomalies over the Urals emerge as a decisive precursor to the winter NAO signal.