scholarly journals Modeling Spatiotemporal Rainfall Variability in Paraíba, Brazil

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1843
Author(s):  
Elias Silva de Medeiros ◽  
Renato Ribeiro de Lima ◽  
Ricardo Alves de Olinda ◽  
Carlos Antonio Costa dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Rainfall Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Total Rainfall ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
Variable Distribution ◽  
Monthly Total ◽  
The Mean

The purpose of this study was to provide a detailed framework to use the spatiotemporal kriging to model the space-time variability of precipitation data in Paraíba, which is located in the northeastern region of Brazil (NEB). The NEB is characterized by an irregular, highly variable distribution of rainfall in space and time. In this region, it is common to find high rates of rainfall at locations adjacent to those with no record of rain. Paraíba experiences localized periods of drought within rainy seasons and distinct precipitation patterns among the state’s mesoregions. The mean precipitation values observed at several irregularly spaced rain gauge stations from 1994 to 2014 showed remarkable variations among the mesoregions in Paraíba throughout the year. As a consequence of this behavior, there is a need to model the rainfall distribution jointly with space and time. A spatiotemporal geostatistical methodology was applied to monthly total rainfall data from the state of Paraíba. The rainfall data indicate intense spatial and temporal variabilities that directly affect the water resources of the entire region. The results provide a detailed spatial analysis of sectors experiencing precipitation conditions ranging from a scarcity to an excess of rainfall. The present study should help drive future research into spatiotemporal rainfall patterns across all of NEB.

scholarly journals Modeling Rainfall Variability over Urban Areas: A Case Study for Kuwait

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaber Almedeij
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Rainfall Data ◽  
Point Estimate ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Time Duration ◽  
Reliable Model ◽  
Monthly Total ◽  
Seasonal Basis

This study examines the spatial and temporal variability of monthly total rainfall data obtained from weather stations located in the urban areas of Kuwait. The rainfall data are analyzed by considering statistics on a seasonal basis and by means of periodogram technique to reveal the periods responsible for the variable pattern. The results demonstrate similarity implying that a point estimate of rainfall data can be considered spatially representative over the urban areas of Kuwait. A sinusoidal model triggering the influence of the detected periods is developed accordingly for the time duration from January 1965 to December 2009. The model is capable of describing the rainfall data with some discrepancies between the actual and calculated values resulting from hidden periods that have not been taken into account. This finding suggests that the ability to construct a more reliable model would require a wider range of historical data to detect the other periods affecting the rainfall pattern.

scholarly journals Analysis of Decadal Rainfall and Temperature Trend in Warri, Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-18
Author(s):  
Oyeleke Oluwaseun Oyerinde
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Trend ◽  
Monthly Rainfall ◽  
Rainfall Data ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Total Rainfall ◽  
Monthly Temperature ◽  
Increasing Trend ◽  
Temperature Ranges ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Using Data

This study investigates rainfall and temperature trend in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria using data derived from Nigerian Meteorological Agency between 2005 and 2015. Data was analyzed to reveal trend in temperature and rainfall values in the years under study and to determine whether there were significant variations. Analysis of rainfall data shows that 2007 had the lowest total rainfall over the 11 year period with a total annual rainfall of 2030.58 mm while 2015 was the year with the highest annual rainfall record of 3183.6 mm. The mean monthly Rainfall indicates that January has the lowest record of rainfall with a total of 36.9 mm while July is the month with highest value of 423.2 mm. Results further indicates that June has the lowest mean monthly temperature over the 11 year period of 20 ºC while March has the highest record of 29.6 ºC. Dominant temperature ranges between 26.1 oC and 26.8 ºC closely followed by 27.7–28.4 ºC which are quite close to the mean monthly values in the area. Analysis of rainfall data confirms an increasing trend.

scholarly journals A Correlation–Scale–Threshold Method for Spatial Variability of Rainfall

Hydrology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bellie Sivakumar ◽  
Fitsum M. Woldemeskel ◽  
Rajendran Vignesh ◽  
Vinayakam Jothiprakash
Keyword(s):  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Rainfall Data ◽  
Spatial Correlations ◽  
Threshold Method ◽  
Southeastern Australia ◽  
Correlation Threshold ◽  
Hydrology And Water Resources

Rainfall data at fine spatial resolutions are often required for various studies in hydrology and water resources. However, such data are not widely available, as their collection is normally expensive and time-consuming. A common practice to obtain fine-spatial-resolution rainfall data is to employ interpolation schemes to derive them based on data available at nearby locations. Such interpolation schemes are generally based on rainfall correlation or distance between stations. The present study proposes a combined rainfall correlation-spatial scale-correlation threshold method for representing spatial rainfall variability. The method is applied to monthly rainfall data at a resolution of 0.25 × 0.25 latitude/longitude across Australia, available from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM 3B43 version). The results indicate that rainfall dynamics in northern and northeastern Australia have far greater spatial correlations when compared to the other regions, especially in southern and southeastern Australia, suggesting that tropical climates generally have greater spatial rainfall correlations when compared to temperate, oceanic, and continental climates, subject to other influencing factors. The implications of the outcomes for rainfall data interpolation and the rain gauge monitoring network are also discussed, especially based on results obtained for ten major cities in Australia.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Rainfall Dynamics in Kosi Basin Using Wavelet Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 7578-7584
Author(s):  
A. Towheed ◽  
R. Thendiyath
Keyword(s):  
Wavelet Analysis ◽  
Spectrum Analysis ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Wavelet Spectrum ◽  
Rainfall Data ◽  
Wavelet Coherence ◽  
Coherence Analysis ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Wavelet Coherence Analysis

Spatial and temporal analysis of rainfall data were carried out along with wavelet analysis for seven rain gauge sites of Kosi basin, India during the time period from 1985 to 2017. Wavelet spectrum analysis and wavelet coherence analysis were performed to fully characterize the time-frequency rainfall variability of the rain gauge data in these areas. For all the selected gauge stations during the study period, the peak value of the wavelet power spectrum was identified for the 8-16 month band. The results of wavelet spectrum analysis reveal a good correlation of rainfall data in the rain gauge sites lying in the southwest of the Kosi basin. The spectrum analysis also differentiates the wet and dry periods and it was observed that in the majority of the selected sites, a dry period occurred from the year 2005 onwards. This was again confirmed with breakpoint analysis. The wavelet coherence analysis explicit is a good correlation between the rain gauges in the study area. Overall, the variability of the rainfall parameters was more vivid with the wavelet analysis and this can be extended to other climatological parameters.

scholarly journals Manual Therapy in Cervical and Lumbar Radiculopathy: A Systematic Review of the Literature

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 6176
Author(s):  
Tomasz Kuligowski ◽  
Anna Skrzek ◽  
Błażej Cieślik
Keyword(s):  
Manual Therapy ◽  
Functional Outcomes ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Lumbar Radiculopathy ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
The Mean

The aim of this study was to describe and update current knowledge of manual therapy accuracy in treating cervical and lumbar radiculopathy, to identify the limitations in current studies, and to suggest areas for future research. The study was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. A comprehensive literature review was conducted using PubMed and Web of Science databases up to April 2020. The following inclusion criteria were used: (1) presence of radiculopathy; (2) treatment defined as manual therapy (i.e., traction, manipulation, mobilization); and (3) publication defined as a Randomized Controlled Trial. The electronic literature search resulted in 473 potentially relevant articles. Finally, 27 articles were accepted: 21 on cervical (CR) and 6 in lumbar radiculopathy (LR). The mean PEDro score for CR was 6.6 (SD 1.3), and for LR 6.7 (SD 1.6). Traction-oriented techniques are the most frequently chosen treatment form for CR and are efficient in reducing pain and improving functional outcomes. In LR, each of the included publications used a different form of manual therapy, which makes it challenging to summarize knowledge in this group. Of included publications, 93% were either of moderate or low quality, which indicates that quality improvement is necessary for this type of research.

scholarly journals A Study of a Sample of Facebook Users Finds They Do Not Seek Political News through Facebook But Are Exposed to Political News through This Medium

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-38
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Margaret Stovold
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Online News ◽  
Social Utility ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Political News ◽  
High School Degree ◽  
News Sources ◽  
News Source ◽  
Tv News ◽  
The Mean

A Review of: Schaferm, S., Sulflow, M., & Muller, P. (2017). The special taste of snack news: an application of niche theory to understand the appeal of Facebook as a source for political news. First Monday, 22(4-3). http://dx.doi.org/10.5210/fm.v22i4.7431 Abstract Objective – To investigate Facebook as a source of exposure to political news stories and to compare the reasons for using Facebook as a news source and the gratifications obtained, compared with other news sources. Design – Survey questionnaire. Setting – Facebook. Subjects – 422 German Facebook users. Methods – An online survey was developed to investigate the use of Facebook as a news source compared with other sources. Specific research questions were informed by the ‘theory of niche’ (Dimmick, 2003) which examines the coexistence and competition between different media outlets by examining the breadth, overlap and superiority of one platform over another. The survey was distributed using a ‘snowball’ technique between July and August 2015. The survey was shared by 52 student research assistants on their Facebook profiles. They asked their friends to complete the survey and share it with their own networks. Main results – The mean (M) age of the 422 respondents was 23.5 years (SD=8.25). The majority were female (61%) with a high school degree (89%). TV news and news websites were the most frequently used sources of political news. Facebook ranked third, ahead of newspapers, search engines, magazines, email provider websites, and Twitter. The mean score for the importance of Facebook as a news sources was 2.46 (SD=1.13) on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is low and 5 is high. This fell in the middle of the range when compared with the top ranked source assessed by importance (TV news, M 4.40, SD=0.88) and the lowest (email providers, M 1.92, SD=0.97). Users rarely visited Facebook with the purpose of finding news (M 1.59, SD=0.73). However, they estimated around 24% of the posts they see were concerned with political news, and when encountered, these stories are frequently read (M 3.53, SD=1.18). However, the level of interaction as measured by liking, commenting, sharing or status updates was low (M 1.94 SD=1.09; M 1.37, SD=0.79; M 1.51, SD=0.85 and M 1.4, SD=0.78 respectively). The ‘gratification’ categories where Facebook as a news source scored the highest were for killing time (M 2.97, SD=1.29), entertainment (M 2.92, SD=1.05), and surveillance (M 2.77, SD=1.01). When compared to newspapers and TV news, it was found that Facebook has a lower score for niche breadth, meaning that it serves a specific rather than general news function. Facebook also had a lower overlap score when compared with the other media, thereby performing a complementary function, while TV news and newspapers perform similarly. TV news scored better for providing balanced information, surveillance and social utility while Facebook scored highest for killing time. There was no difference in the category of entertainment. There was a similar picture when comparing Facebook with newspapers. Conclusion – The authors conclude that while users do not actively seek political news through Facebook, they are exposed to political news through this medium. Respondents did not consider the news to be well balanced, and that currently Facebooks’ niche is restricted to entertainment and killing time. The authors note that this may be disappointing for news organisations, but there is potential to expose large audiences to political news when they are not actively seeking it. The findings represent a specific time point in a changing landscape and future research will need to take these changes into account. Comparisons with other online news sources and the use of objective measures to validate self-reported data would be valuable areas for future research.

scholarly journals Plasma mineral (selenium, zinc or copper) concentrations in the general pregnant population, adjusted for supplement intake, in relation to thyroid function

2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-78
Author(s):  
Victor Pop ◽  
Johannes Krabbe ◽  
Wolfgang Maret ◽  
Margaret Rayman
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Function ◽  
Reference Range ◽  
First Trimester ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Thyroid Peroxidase ◽  
Reference Ranges ◽  
Lower Plasma ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Supplement Intake

AbstractThe present study reports on first-trimester reference ranges of plasma mineral Se/Zn/Cu concentration in relation to free thyroxine (FT4), thyrotropin (TSH) and thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO-Ab), assessed at 12 weeks’ gestation in 2041 pregnant women, including 544 women not taking supplements containing Se/Zn/Cu. The reference range (2·5th–97·5th percentiles) in these 544 women was 0·72–1·25 µmol/l for Se, 17·15–35·98 µmol/l for Cu and 9·57–16·41 µmol/l for Zn. These women had significantly lower mean plasma Se concentration (0·94 (sd 0·12) µmol/l) than those (n 1479) taking Se/Zn/Cu supplements (1·03 (sd 0·14) µmol/l; P < 0·001), while the mean Cu (26·25 µmol/l) and Zn (12·55 µmol/l) concentrations were almost identical in these sub-groups. Women with hypothyroxinaemia (FT4 below reference range with normal TSH) had significantly lower plasma Zn concentrations than euthyroid women. After adjusting for covariates including supplement intake, plasma Se (negatively), Zn and Cu (positively) concentrations were significantly related to logFT4; Se and Cu (but not Zn) were positively and significantly related to logTSH. Women taking additional Se/Zn/Cu supplements were 1·46 (95 % CI 1·09, 2·04) times less likely to have elevated titres of TPO-Ab at 12 weeks of gestation. We conclude that first-trimester Se reference ranges are influenced by Se-supplement intake, while Cu and Zn ranges are not. Plasma mineral Se/Zn/Cu concentrations are associated with thyroid FT4 and TSH concentrations. Se/Zn/Cu supplement intake affects TPO-Ab status. Future research should focus on the impact of trace mineral status during gestation on thyroid function.

The Subjective Present and Its Modulation in Clinical Contexts

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Tschacher ◽  
Fabian Ramseyer ◽  
Claudia Bergomi
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Grouping ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Implicit Processes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Gestalt Perception ◽  
Psychotherapeutic Techniques ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Individual

Time is a basic dimension in psychology, underlying behavior and experience. Timing and time perception constitute implicit processes that are often inaccessible to the individual person. Research in this field has shown that timing is involved in many areas of clinical significance. In the projects presented here, we combine timing with seemingly different fields of research, such as psychopathology, perceptual grouping, and embodied cognition. Focusing on the time scale of the subjective present, we report findings from three different clinical studies: (1) We studied perceived causality in schizophrenia patients, finding that perceptual grouping (‘binding’, ‘Gestalt formation’), which leads to visual causality perceptions, did not distinguish between patients and healthy controls. Patients however did integrate context (provided by the temporal distribution of auditory context stimuli) less into perceptions, in significant contrast to controls. This is consistent with reports of higher inaccuracy in schizophrenia patients’ temporal processing. (2) In a project on auditory Gestalt perception we investigated auditory perceptual grouping in schizophrenia patients. The mean dwell time was positively related to how much patients were prone to auditory hallucinations. Dwell times of auditory Gestalts may be regarded as operationalizations of the subjective present; findings thus suggested that patients with hallucinations had a shorter present. (3) The movement correlations of interacting individuals were used to study the non-verbal synchrony between therapist and patient in psychotherapy sessions. We operationalized the duration of an embodied ‘social present’ by the statistical significance of such associations, finding a window of roughly 5.7 seconds in conversing dyads. We discuss that temporal scales of nowness may be modifiable, e.g., by mindfulness. This yields promising goals for future research on timing in the clinical context: psychotherapeutic techniques may alter binding processes, hence the subjective present of individuals, and may affect the social present in therapeutic interactions.

Mines in the End Zone: Are there Downsides to Team Performance?

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Troy V. Mumford ◽  
M. Travis Maynard
Keyword(s):  
Team Performance ◽  
Role Overload ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Regression To The Mean ◽  
Occupational Psychology ◽  
Team Success ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Overconfidence Bias

Abstract Research on teams in organizations tends to focus on understanding the causes of team performance with a focus on how to enjoy the benefits of team success and avoid the negative consequences of team failure. This paper instead asks the question, ‘what are some of the negative consequences of team success?’ A review of the literature on teams is augmented with research from cognitive science, sociology, occupational psychology, and psychology to explore the potential negative long-term consequences of teamwork success. The general topics of groupthink, overconfidence bias, regression to the mean, role overload, and strategy calcification are reviewed while discussing the implications for future research streams and practical team management.

Point process models of rainfall: developments for fine-scale structure

2007 ◽  
Vol 463 (2086) ◽  
pp. 2569-2587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Cowpertwait ◽  
Valerie Isham ◽  
Christian Onof
Keyword(s):  
Poisson Process ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Rainfall Data ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Third Order ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Historical Series ◽  
Derived Properties

A conceptual stochastic model of rainfall is proposed in which storm origins occur in a Poisson process, where each storm has a random lifetime during which rain cell origins occur in a secondary Poisson process. In addition, each cell has a random lifetime during which instantaneous random depths (or ‘pulses’) of rain occur in a further Poisson process. A key motivation behind the model formulation is to account for the variability in rainfall data over small (e.g. 5 min) and larger time intervals. Time-series properties are derived to enable the model to be fitted to aggregated rain gauge data. These properties include moments up to third order, the probability that an interval is dry, and the autocovariance function. To allow for distinct storm types (e.g. convective and stratiform), several processes may be superposed. Using the derived properties, a model consisting of two storm types is fitted to 60 years of 5 min rainfall data taken from a site near Wellington, New Zealand, using sample estimates taken at 5 min, 1 hour, 6 hours and daily levels of aggregation. The model is found to fit moments of the depth distribution up to third order very well at these time scales. Using the fitted model, 5 min series are simulated, and annual maxima are extracted and compared with equivalent values taken from the historical record. A good fit in the extremes is found at both 1 and 24 hour levels of aggregation, although at the 5 min level there is some underestimation of the historical values. Proportions of time intervals with depths below various low thresholds are extracted from the simulated and historical series and compared. A tendency for underestimation of the historical values is evident at some time scales, with a close fit being obtained as the threshold is increased.

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