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On August 17, 2020, debris flows successively occurred in four ravines along the main stream of Yazhezaozu Village, Pingwu County, Sichuan Province. This event resulted in multiple collapses and interruptions along the G247 national highway, and extensive damage to the Jiumian expressway project site and laborer residences, among other areas. A significant volume of driftwood carried by the debris flow converged into the main stream, leading to the blockage of downstream road bridges and culverts, causing backflow and village flooding, thereby exacerbating the disaster risk. To prevent similar disasters in the future, post-disaster investigations using field surveys and remote sensing interpretations explored the characteristics of this debris flow disaster's risk. A primary focus was placed on analyzing the risk amplification effect caused by blockages in main stream road bridges and culverts due to debris flow. The results indicated: (1) The '8.17' debris flow in Yazhezaozu Village was a low-frequency, large-scale, rare, and extensive group occurrence, with an eruption frequency of approximately once every 50 years. The debris flows in Azu Gully and Zapai Gully were extremely large-scale, while Mashizha No. 3 Gully and Duobu River No. 5 Gully were large-scale, with an affected debris fan area of about 16.66 x 104 square meters. (2) Improper layout of main stream road bridges and culverts resulted in the blockages of driftwood carried by the debris flow, forming dammed bodies, increasing the affected area by 16.78 x 104 square meters, and enlarging the risk range by about 1-fold. (3) In well-vegetated, moist mountainous areas, when constructing main stream road bridges and culverts, it is advisable to appropriately increase the axial spacing between bridge piers, allowing for a certain width and operational space in the river channel. This will prevent the amplification of debris flow disaster risks caused by driftwood blockages. This study aims to provide guidance for the reasonable planning of main stream road bridges and culverts in similar mountainous areas and relevant prevention and early warning of debris flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augustine and Mozi are doubtlessly two of the most important theorists about love in the Western and Chinese traditions. Augustine has made a sharp distinction between caritas and cupiditas, whereas Mozi proposes the theory of impartial love (jian'ai 兼爱). Hannah Arendt has made her irreplaceable contribution to the understanding of the Augustinian concept of caritas in her work with the title Der Liebesbegriff bei Augustin, Versuch einer Philosophischen Interpretation (1929). She treats the central question of whether for Augustine love towards neighbors has an independent value. In the Chinese tradition, Mozi proposes the theory of impartial love as a remedy for disposing of the disorders of society on the one hand, but on the other hand to love others impartially comes ultimately from the divine command of tian or Heaven, and tian seems to be the final authority or standard for being morally good and righteousness. It needs explanation or clarification if Mozi commits an inconsistency by holding two different ethical principles. In this article, I will first concentrate on discovering the fundamental characteristics of caritas and cupiditas, and then turn to dealing with the problem of the instrumentalization of the others in the love towards neighbors if they are used as tools to ascend to God's love. In the last part, I will discuss the impartial love of Mozi and compare it with that of Augustine to see their distinctions and similarities. We will see that through the comparison we can obtain a better understanding of the concept of love in different traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-frequency debris flows often lead to severe disasters due to large energy releases and strong concealment. However, the understanding of formation conditions, movement processes, and disaster-causing mechanisms of low-frequency debris flow is still limited, especially regarding occurrences within the large catchment (>50 km2). This study presents a typical case of large-scale, low-frequency debris flow occurring in the Heishui catchment (102.65 km2), Pingwu County, China. The movement process, disaster characteristics, and causes of the Heishui debris flow were analyzed in detail through field investigations and remote sensing interpretation. The results indicated that the Heishui debris flow is a large-scale, low-frequency, dilute debris flow with a recurrence period of over 100 years. The debris flow was primarily initiated from the right branch gully, Longchi gully, triggered by a local rainstorm with a maximum hourly rainfall return period of over 20 years. The main cause of casualties and building damage is attributed to large energy releases from boulder blockages and outbursts that occurred in the middle part of the main channel. This led to a sudden increase in peak discharge to 1287 m3/s, with a volume of 3.5 × 105 m3 of solid materials being transported to the outlet of the gully. It is essential to enhance the identification of debris flows by comprehensively considering tributary gullies' susceptibility and strengthening joint meteorological and hydrological monitoring networks in the middle and upper reaches within large catchments. This preliminary work contributes towards improving prevention and mitigation strategies for low-frequency debris flows occurring within large catchments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article intends to discover the function of phantasia for phronesis. Its main idea is that the practically wise person has the right sort of phantasia associated with the right kind of pleasure and pain and that through the medium of pleasure and pain phronesis and phantasia become connected. First, I examine what Aristotle means when he says that phronesis is a special kind of practical perception which is concerned with ethical particulars. Second, I illustrate the function of phantasia, especially deliberative phantasia, for the ethical agent based on the essential proposition that phantasia has a motivational force based on its representation of things as objects of desire. The virtuous man has the right kind of practical phantasia and phantasmata in the sense that things appear to him as good or pleasurable in the way they are really so. Finally, I argue that natural phantasia and phantasmata which we possess from birth need to be transformed by the practical intellect so that they might acquire moral values; and the pleasure which the virtuous man takes in doing good actions consolidates his virtuous characters so that he can act out of a settled and steadfast dispositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics, clinical manifestations, antimicrobial resistance and develop a predictive model for severe pertussis spanning five years - before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic - in Shenzhen children's hospital in southern China, aiming to provide insights into the pandemic impact and control measures on the pertussis disease profile., Methods: Demographic, clinical, vaccination, and laboratory data were collected for patients who tested positive for pertussis by polymerase chain reaction and/or culture from January 1, 2019, to March 30, 2024. Analysis included changes in demographic and clinical features, indicators of severe cases, and resistance patterns over the study period., Results: During this period, 3963 patients were diagnosed, with 79 severe (PICU admitted) cases; 1433 isolates underwent antimicrobial susceptibility testing. In late 2023, pertussis cases began to increase. From 2019 to 2024, the proportion of cases among 4-6 year olds rose from 4.9 % to 28.6 %, and among 7-11 year olds from 0.7 % to 21.2 %. Macrolide resistance surged from 46.5 % in 2019 to 97.3 % in 2024, with 80 % of resistant hospitalized cases initially treated with macrolides. Clinical severity and co-infection increased post-pandemic, with a larger number of cases necessitating antibiotic changes and enhanced supportive care. Vaccination protected against severe disease. Indicators such as white blood cell count, lymphocyte to neutrophil ratio, platelet count, cyanosis and pneumonia predicted disease severity., Conclusions: Post-pandemic, pertussis cases shifted from infants to school-aged children, with increased clinical severity and high macrolide resistance. Urgent measures are needed to optimize vaccination schedules and develop management strategies addressing and changing epidemiological patterns., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)