We combine light detection and ranging (LiDAR) digital terrain model (DTM) data and an improved mesh implementation to investigate the effects of highresolution surface topography on seismic ground motion based upon the spectralelement method. In general, topography increases the amplitude of shaking at mountain tops and ridges, whereas valleys usually have reduced ground motion, as has been ob...

The ability to distinguish a figure from its background is crucial for visual perception. To date, it remains unresolved where and how in the visual system different stages of figure-ground segregation emerge. Neural correlates of figure border detection have consistently been found in early visual cortex (V1/V2). However, areas V1/V2 have also been frequently associated with later stages of fi...

the highest temperatures of the world are recorded in dry and warm climates. this can especially be observed in deserts, where vegetations and soil moisture are very low. as a result, the soil surface receives high thermal energy and its temperature rises up. the lut desert has the above characteristics, making it a suitable environment to prepare land surface temperature (lst) models. objectiv...

Ground surfaces play an important role in terrestrial species' locomotion and ability to manipulate objects. In humans, ground surfaces have been found to offer significant advantages in distance perception and visual-search tasks ("ground dominance"). The present study used a comparative perspective to investigate the ground-dominance effect in chimpanzees, a species that spends time both on t...

In a series of four studies, we investigated the visual cues that walkers use to predict slippery ground surfaces and tested whether visual information is reliable for specifying low-friction conditions. In Study 1, 91% of participants surveyed responded that they would use shine to identify upcoming slippery ground. Studies 2-4 confirmed participants' reliance on shine to predict slip. Partici...

recent droughts and indiscriminate use of ground water for agriculture, is the main problems of the especially desert country.water crisis has gripped all of country plains, and due tothe reduction of surface water resources and successive droughts, illegal exploitation of ground water resources is increasing.the knowledge of the water balance plains can be helped in the water resources managem...

background: debonding of denture teeth from denture bases is the most common failure in removable dentures. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of surface treatments on shear bond strength of denture teeth to heat-polymerized and autopolymerized denture base resins. materials and methods: in this experimental in vitro study, 60 maxillary central incisor acrylic teeth were divid...

By using ab initio methods on different levels we study the magnetic ground state of (finite) atomic wires deposited on metallic surfaces. A phenomenological model based on symmetry arguments suggests that the magnetization of a ferromagnetic wire is aligned either normal to the wire and, generally, tilted with respect to the surface normal or parallel to the wire. From a first principles point...