scholarly journals COVID-19 Societal Response Captured by Seismic Noise in China and Italy

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 2757-2768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Xiao ◽  
Zachary Cohen Eilon ◽  
Chen Ji ◽  
Toshiro Tanimoto

Abstract Seismic noise with frequencies above 1 Hz is often called “cultural noise” and is generally correlated quite well with human activities. Recently, cities in mainland China and Italy imposed restrictions on travel and day-to-day activity in response to COVID-19, which gave us an unprecedented opportunity to study the relationship between seismic noise above 1 Hz and human activities. Using seismic records from stations in China and Italy, we show that seismic noise above 1 Hz was primarily generated by the local transportation systems. The lockdown of the cities and the imposition of travel restrictions led to an ∼4–12  dB decrease in seismic noise power in mainland China. Data also show that different Chinese cities experienced distinct periods of diminished cultural noise, related to differences in local response to the epidemic. In contrast, there was only ∼1–6  dB decrease of seismic noise power in Italy, after the country was put under a lockdown. The noise data indicate that traffic flow did not decrease as much in Italy and show how different cities reacted distinctly to the lockdown conditions.

2021 ◽  
pp. 073563312110107
Author(s):  
Cixiao Wang ◽  
Huixiao Le

In collaborative learning, the intuition “the more device, the merrier” is somehow widely acknowledged, but little research has investigated the relationship between device-student ratio and the learning outcome. This study aims to investigate not only the main effect of different device-student ratio, also to identify the moderators in the learning context including task complexity, external script availability and students’ familiarity to the collaboration settings. A three-round quasi-experiment was conducted in a primary school in mainland China, 130 fifth-grade students from four classes participated. Group worksheet including conceptual understanding and problem-solving tasks were used to collect participants’ inquiry performance. Repeated measures ANOVA was employed in data analysis. Findings indicate that 1:m device-student ratio could be beneficial, and external scripts, and prior collaboration experience could moderate such effect. The different effect of 1:m device-student ratio to 1:1 is only significant in the situation when students are faced with relatively simple task, and the effect size is larger when external script is present. When the task is more complicated, such effect of device-student ratio would only emerge after a period of collaboration. This finding challenged the intuition that one-to-one device-student ratio could be better. Related discussions and recommendations to teaching were made.


2003 ◽  
Vol 785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth S. Kessler ◽  
S. Mark Spearing

ABSTRACTEmbedded structural health monitoring systems are envisioned to be an important component of future transportation systems. One of the key challenges in designing an SHM system is the choice of sensors, and a sensor layout, which can detect unambiguously relevant structural damage. This paper focuses on the relationship between sensors, the materials of which they are made, and their ability to detect structural damage. Sensor selection maps have been produced which plot the capabilities of the full range of available sensor types vs. the key performance metrics (power consumption, resolution, range, sensor size, coverage). This exercise resulted in the identification of piezoceramic Lamb wave transducers as the sensor of choice. Experimental results are presented for the detailed selection of piezoceramic materials to be used as Lamb wave transducers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-193
Author(s):  
Ying Liu ◽  
Luping Wang ◽  
Xianfeng Han ◽  
Yang Wang ◽  
Xuefeng Sun ◽  
...  

Background: Hemodialysis is the main approach for renal replacement therapy in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in China. The timing of dialysis initiation is one of the key factors influencing patient survival and prognosis. Over the past decade, the relationship between the timing of dialysis initiation and mortality has remained unclear in patients with ESRD in China. Methods: Patients who commenced maintenance hemodialysis from 2009 to 2014 from 24 hemodialysis centers in Mainland China were enrolled in the study (n = 1,674). Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the year they started hemodialysis (patients who started hemodialysis from 2009 to 2011, and patients who started hemodialysis from 2012 to 2014). Analysis of the yearly change in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at the initiation of dialysis was performed for the 2 groups. Meanwhile, the patients were divided into 3 groups based on their eGFR at the initiation of dialysis (<4, 4–8, and >8 mL/min/1.73 m2). For these 3 groups, the relationship between the eGFR at the start of dialysis and mortality were analyzed. Results: The average eGFRs were 5.68 and 5.94 mL/min/1.73 m2 for 2009–2011 and 2012–2014, respectively. Compared with the 2009–2011 group, the proportion of patients with diabetes in 2012–2014 increased from 26.7 to 37.7%. The prognosis of patients with different eGFRs at the start of dialysis was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. After adjusting for confounding factors through a Cox regression model, no significant difference was demonstrated among the 3 groups (<4 mL/min/1.73 m2 was used as the reference, in comparison with 4–8 mL/min/1.73 m2 [p = 0.681] and >8 mL/min/1.73 m2 [p = 0.403]). Conclusion: In Mainland China, the eGFR at the start of dialysis did not change significantly over time from 2008 to 2014 and had no association with the mortality of patients with ESRD.


2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
pp. 1379-1385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shou-Kuan Mu

Many researchers agree that virtue is an important psychological concept in contemporary psychology. The main purpose in this study was to investigate the relationship between virtues and the personality traits of college students in mainland China. Participants (N = 426) completed the Chinese Virtue Adjectives Rating Scale (CVARS; Mu, 2007) and the Chinese 16PF (Zhu & Dai, 1988). The results indicated that the 16 personality factors most closely related to the virtue factors were emotional stability, dominance, liveliness, rule-consciousness, social boldness, sensitivity, vigilance, abstractedness, apprehension, self-reliance, perfectionism, and tension. Second-order factors of the 16PF most strongly related to the virtue factors were anxiety, extraversion, tough-mindedness, and independence.


1991 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 1101-1114
Author(s):  
Jerry A. Carter ◽  
Noel Barstow ◽  
Paul W. Pomeroy ◽  
Eric P. Chael ◽  
Patrick J. Leahy

Abstract Evidence is presented supporting the view that high-frequency seismic noise decreases with increased depth. Noise amplitudes are higher near the free surface where surface-wave noise, cultural noise, and natural (wind-induced) noise predominate. Data were gathered at a hard-rock site in the northwestern Adirondack lowlands of northern New York. Between 15- and 40-Hz noise levels at this site are more than 10 dB less at 945-m depth than they are at the surface, and from 40 to 100 Hz the difference is more than 20 dB. In addition, time variability of the spectra is shown to be greater at the surface than at either 335- or 945-m depths. Part of the difference between the surface and subsurface noise variability may be related to wind-induced noise. Coherency measurements between orthogonal components of motion show high-frequency seismic noise is more highly organized at the surface than it is at depth. Coherency measurements between the same component of motion at different vertical offsets show a strong low-frequency coherence at least up to 945-m vertical offsets. As the vertical offset decreases, the frequency band of high coherence increases.


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